Boeing Delivers 2 F-15K Slam Eagles to South Korea

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Boeing Delivers 2 F-15K Slam Eagles to South Korea

The Boeing Company delivered two F-15K Slam Eagle aircraft -- designated F-15K49 and F-15K50 -- to the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) at Daegu Air Base on May 30.

The aircraft departed the Boeing St. Louis facility on May 25 and made stops in Palmdale, Calif., Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii, and Anderson Air Force Base, Guam, before arriving in Korea.

"Boeing has now delivered 10 F-15Ks to the Republic of Korea under the Next Fighter II contract," said Roger Besancenez, Boeing F-15 Program vice president. "We remain laser focused on providing first time quality on every F-15K we deliver to this important customer. We are proud that the F-15K is a cost-certain, schedule-certain solution for the Republic of Korea."

Boeing delivered the first six of 21 F-15Ks it is producing under the Next Fighter II contract in 2010 and two more in April. The remaining 11 aircraft will be delivered through April 2012.

Six of the new F-15K Slam Eagles are scheduled to participate in an advanced aerial combat training exercise at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., in early 2012.

The F-15K is an advanced variant of the combat-proven F-15E. Equipped with the latest technological upgrades, it is extremely capable, survivable and maintainable. The aircraft's service life is planned through 2040, with technology insertions and upgrades throughout its life cycle. Boeing completed delivery of 40 Next Fighter I aircraft to the ROKAF in October 2008.

A unit of The Boeing Company, Boeing Defense, Space & Security is one of the world's largest defense, space and security businesses specializing in innovative and capabilities-driven customer solutions, and the world's largest and most versatile manufacturer of military aircraft. Headquartered in St. Louis, Boeing Defense, Space & Security is a $32 billion business with 65,000 employees worldwide.

 

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South Korea to Speed Up Deployment of Stealth Fighters, Spy Drones

The Ministry of National Defense said Tuesday that it will speed up plans to deploy stealth jet fighters and high-altitude spy drones to build up its surveillance capability and bolster deterrence toward North Korea.

In a news conference, Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin said his ministry will “push the third and final phase of the F-X fighter acquisition program with stealth capabilities at an appropriate date.”

Military sources have talked about the possibility of next generation stealth fighter jets being introduced several times. However, this was the first time that the ministry made public the acquisition plan officially.

The third phase of the F-X fighter acquisition program calls for obtaining 60 fifth generation combat aircraft from around 2015 to 2021.

Initially, the Air Force sought to launch the final phase of the F-X fighter acquisition program this year, but the plan has been delayed due to budgetary problems.

An F-15K costs more than 100 billion won. As a result, more than 7 trillion won will be needed to introduce 60 new fighter jets. If stealth capabilities are added, the project will cost more than 8.2 trillion won.

The presidential office has argued that there is no need to speed up the F-X plan which needs a huge amount of money.

Potential candidates for new jets include the F-15SE, Lockheed Martin's F-35 and Eurofighter’s Typhoon.

South Korea asked the United States last year to sell it the U.S.-made RQ-4 Global Hawk spy planes, ministry sources said.

Calls for reform of the military have been growing since North Korea's torpedo attack on a South Korean warship in March last year that killed 46 sailors. Eight months later, the North launched a sudden artillery barrage on a South Korean island near the western sea border, killing two marines and two civilians.