ROKAF F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF)
On 25 September 2014 it was announced that South Korea would buy 40 F-35A fighter jets from the U.S. defense firm Lockheed Martin for about 7 billion US dollars. Under the agreed purchase deal, Lockheed Martin will transfer production technologies in 17 sectors to be used for the nation's next generation fighter jet projects. The purchase is aimed at replacing the country's aging warplanes and to cope with North Korea's military threats. According to the state-run Defense Acquisition Program Administration, the new fighter jets will be delivered to South Korea between 2018 and 2025.
The Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress 29 March 2013 of a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of Korea for 60 F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Conventional Take Off and Landing (CTOL) aircraft and associated equipment, parts, training and logistical support for an estimated cost of $10.8 billion. The competing bid for 60 F-15 Silent Eagle aircraft had an estimated cost of $2.408 billion.
The first South Korean F-35A fighter aircraft made its public debut at a rollout ceremony held at Lockheed Martin's assembly line in Texas on 28 March 2018. Hundreds of key defense and military officials, as well as politicians from South Korea and the U.S. attended the ceremony. Seoul's Vice Defense Minister Suh Choo-suk and the South Korean Air Force's Vice Chief of Staff Lee Seong-yong were among the attendees.
Vice Minister Suh stressed the fielding of the fighter jet is not simply an acquisition of jets, but also a symbolic representation of the ironclad alliance between South Korea and the US. "I request your continued interest and support for the fielding of the F-35 fighter jet so that it can serve as a critical asset in protecting the South Korean airspace. I also hope for the continued peace and stability on the Korean peninsula stemming from the impervious ROK-U.S. alliance."
In a video message, South Korea's Defense Minister Song Young-moo dubbed the fifth-generation stealth aircraft as the world's best fighter jet, saying its deployment will greatly enhance the nation's ability to maintain the security of the nation's sovereign airspace.
The F-35A jets have state-of-the-art radar evasion capabilities and an advanced weapon system,. which are expected to significantly strengthen the country's defense against any provocation. "The technological capabilities of this fifth-generation fighter are unmatched anywhere in the world. The F-35 does more than transform into an airforce. It transforms a nation's armed forces, and it enables allies to maintain peace through strength and cooperation that spans the globe."
South Korea's Air Force also expects the advanced fighter jets to enhance the security of the Korean peninsula. "With aims to implement effective aerospace operations, we expect the F-35As to enhance our prompt precision strike capabilities." Six F-35A jets will be manufactured for South Korea this year, and they will be delivered to Luke Air Force Base in Arizona,.. where South Korean pilots will undergo the respective training before the jets are delivered to Cheongju Air Base in South Korea in March 2019. The South Korean Air Force aimed at securing a fleet of at least 40 F-35A units by 2021.
South Korea is moving forward with its plan to spend three billion U.S. dollars to buy 20 more F-35A stealth fighter jets. The nation's defense minister led a meeting on 15 July 2022 of a committee on defense procurement and approved plans to purchase more of the F-35s up until the year 2028. The country already hads around 40 of them.
The new F-35A purchase may come at the expense of the Republic of Korea Navy (RoKN) plans for the procurement of a 30,000-ton light aircraft carrier – dubbed CVX – along with the plans to purchase the F-35B variant short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) aircraft. President Moon Jae-in, from the Democratic Party, had sought to expand the focus of South Korea’s defense modernization beyond threats from Pyongyang, and to have a carrier to offset the naval power of Japan. Following elections in March 2022, President Yoon Suk-yeol, from the People’s Power Party, saw North Korea’s growing arsenal of weapons of mass destruction as far more urgent.
The South Korean government approved major defense projects to purchase more fighter jets and other weapons systems from the United States to enhance key defense capabilities against North Korea. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration unveiled such a plan on 13 March 2023. It includes 20 more F-35A stealth fighters and shipborne Standard Missile-6 or "SM-6" interceptors. The South Korean Air Force currently ran 40 F-35As manufactured by the U.S. defense giant Lockheed Martin. The country was expected to spend some 3.75 trillion won or a little under 3 billion dollars to get the fighter jets by 2028.
South Korea began procedures to determine the number of vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) jets to purchase for its envisioned light aircraft carrier to be deployed by 2033, a government source said 05 August 2020. The exact type of the VTOL aircraft to be deployed has yet to be decided, but it is likely to be the F-35B, which is the only model that meets South Korea's requirement that it have stealth capability. The basic design will start in 2022, and the ship production will begin in 2026. As early as 2033, the Navy's light aircraft carriers would be protecting the territorial waters.
The number of the aircraft to be introduced is expected to hover around 20. "The number of VTOL necessary, the plan for acquisition and the exact type of the aircraft will be specified in line with the schedule to build the landing platform helicopter ship," the official said. The envisioned aircraft carrier will be the third landing platform helicopter ship South Korea deploys following the Dokdo and Marado ships. The U.S. Navy plans to carry only 20 F-35Bs and two MH-60s to American ships to serve as light carriers. The 65,000-ton class Queen Elizabeth carries the F-35B, the AW159 Wildcat multi-purpose anti-submarine helicopter, and the AW101 transport/early warning helicopter. In the case of the F-35B, a maximum of 24 can be carried, and 36 if stowed in the hangar and deck.
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