Eurofighter ups the ante in FX-III program

Executive offers Korea partnership on same level as countries who developed it


The consortium for Eurofighter promised to give Korea a partner status for shared manufacturing and technology if the Air Force selects the Eurofighter Typhoon in its new fighter procurement program.

Paul Herrmann, EuroJet Turbo GmbH executive for business development told The Korea Herald that Eurofighter partner countries have agreed to the deal. EuroJet is a multinational consortium that produces the EJ200 engine used in the Eurofighter.

“Korea will become a partner of the NATMA on the same level as the nations that paid for the development of the Eurofighter (if Korea purchases the fighter jet),” Herrmann said. NATMA, short for NATO Eurofighter and Tornado Management Agency, manages business aspects of the Eurofighter program on behalf of the partner nations. He added that the same conditions will apply if Korea uses the EJ200 engine in the KFX program that will develop a new fighter jet. 

“The beauty is that once you are a member, you are not only participating with the technology for your own aircraft but you get share-allocated, and participate in the manufacturing in all following contracts.”

Korea is in the final stage of the FX-III fighter jet procurement program, in which the Boeing F-15 Silent Eagle, Lockheed Martin F-35 and the Eurofigther are competing for a contract worth about 8 trillion won ($6.8 billion). The deadline for submitting the proposal is June 18, after which the Defense Acquisition Program Administration will conduct tests and studies before making the final selection in October.

However, with the Korean Air Force’s fighter jet fleets consisting entirely of U.S. products, the Eurofighter is considered by many as the weakest competitor due to interoperability issues.

Herrmann, however, says that selecting Eurofighter and the EJ200 engine for the KFX program will have significant benefits for Korea.

In addition to potential partnership in the program, Herrmann says that the manufacturers of the Eurofighter are also prepared to provide significant access to their technologies with both Eurofighter and the EJ200 engine if the latter is chosen for the KFX program.

Herrmann said that EuroJet has “shown all” to Samsung Techwin, a potential candidate for working with EuroJet to produce the EJ200 engine in Korea, including its “blisk” technology, and that localized engine production will become increasingly advanced until most of the repairs can be done within Korea. A blisk is an engine component where the blades of the turbine and the disk are fused into a single unit using linear friction welding.

“It is an example of to which depth we are prepared to go,” Herrmann said, adding that the blisk technology is unique and that it is unlikely to be required in Korea where defense policies are focused on homeland security.

According to Herrmann, his company’s EJ200 engine could also help with the exporting of Korea’s T-50 trainer jets to a non-Asian country, a feat that has so far eluded Korea Aerospace Industries, which manufactures the jet. Last year the company signed a contract to ship 16 T-50s to Indonesia, but it was beaten in the bid for Israel’s $1 billion-trainer jet procurement program by Italy’s M-346.

“We have done a complete study with KAI and ADD (Agency for Defense Development) on replacing the engine, and the EJ200 fits perfectly,” Herrmann said. The T-50 is built with General Electric’s GE404 engine.

“Spain at the moment is negotiating with Korea to establish a joint training base in Spain, probably buy some T-50s but only with the EJ200, because a Spanish company has share in our program. But it is still a lot of loose talk at the moment.”

With regards to concerns over the impact of Europe’s financial crisis on the Eurofighter program, Herrmann said that the Korean authorities need not worry.

“Germany is the lead country and we are flourishing better than ever. The program is structured so that even in the harshest crisis, all parts of the manufacturing can be done in Germany,” Herrmann said. He added that the U.K. also has matching production capabilities.

“It is such a strategically designed program that there is no way the financial crisis can affect the delivery.”

By Choi He-suk  (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)