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Indonesia factor keeps US transferring tech for KF-X

The United States appears reluctant to share technologies for Korea’s indigenous fighter jet development project due to the “Indonesia factor,” analysts said Wednesday.

Indonesia maintains close defense ties with Russia, and its partnership with Korea is worrying the U.S. government, they said.

Korea plans to develop its own jets in close cooperation with Indonesia, the No. 1 importer of Russian weaponry. But Washington, mindful of Indonesia’s relations with Russia, is concerned about possible leakage of core technologies in high-tech fighter jets, they said.

They also said Indonesia’s participation may become an obstacle to the 8.5 trillion won KF-X project, aimed at developing indigenous fighter jets by 2025 to replace the Air Force’s aging fleet of F-4s and F-5s.

On Sunday, Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), the project’s preferred bidder, signed tentative deals with the Indonesian government and state-run defense company PT Dirgantara Indonesia. Under the deals, Indonesia will pay 20 percent of the costs and participate in the design process and component production, as well as acquiring one prototype and technology data afterward.

“The United States shares little defense technology with Indonesia,” said Brad Perrett, Asia-Pacific bureau chief of Aviation Week, the U.S. weekly magazine specializing in defense and space issues.

“So, Indonesia’s participation in the KF-X program increases Korea’s challenge in acquiring U.S. technology, which will in any case not be freely available.”

Greg Waldron, Asia managing editor of FlightGlobal, an aviation and aerospace industry website, also said the U.S. government has never explicitly stated its view on Indonesia’s involvement with the KF-X as an issue, but several people in the U.S. and Korea have said it could be problematic.

“It is understood, for example, that the U.S. limited some capabilities in the T-50 that was sold to Indonesia,” he said. “For something like the KF-X, this would also likely apply.”

KAI, the nation’s sole aircraft maker, exported 16 T-50 supersonic trainer jets, developed in 2001 with technical help from U.S. aerospace giant Lockheed Martin, to Indonesia in 2011.

The U.S. imposed an arms export ban on Indonesia for its invasion of East Timor that began in 1975 and ended in 1999 following the United Nations-sponsored act of self-determination.

Washington has yet to remove the ban completely, and this led Indonesia to import Russian weapons worth about $884 billion over the past decade.

A global defense market yearbook produced on Nov. 19 by the Defense Agency for Technology and Quality stated: “Indonesia has imported weapons mainly from the Netherlands and Russia under the influence of the U.S. export ban. For the past five years, Indonesia has been the No. 1 importer of Russian weapons.”

The KF-X project faced a serious setback in April after the U.S. government refused to allow Lockheed Martin to hand over to Korea four core technologies related to the F-35 stealth fighter, including the active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, for security reasons.

Negotiations regarding the transfer of another 21 technologies also are being delayed, raising fresh concern that Washington might again refuse to approve the export of some of them.

Critics argue that if Korea fails to receive the technologies from the U.S., the feasibility of the KF-X project can be hardly be guaranteed.

Indonesia factor keeps US transferring tech for KF-X
 
ADEX: Lockheed affirms commitment to Korea F-35 offsets

22 OCTOBER, 2015
BY: GREG WALDRON
SEOUL

Lockheed Martin has affirmed its commitment to its F-35 offset obligations to South Korea amid a local controversy around US export licences related to the nation’s indigenous KFX fighter programme.

“The things we’ve read about in the press are strictly a matter between the government of Korea and the US government,” says Steve Over, F-35 international business development director.

“We have our offset programme that we signed up to on F-35 in support of KFX. We intend to fully meet our obligations under this programme. We've had relationships with Korean industry and [the government] that have endured for decades. We are very supportive of their aspirations to develop KFX.”

Over spoke with Flightglobal at the Seoul International Aerospace & Defense Exhibition (ADEX). The US government’s recent refusal to grant export licences on four technologies deemed “core” to KFX has strained relations between the two governments, and is a key discussion point at this year’s show. The four technologies in question are active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, jamming, electro-optical targeting, and infrared search and track (IRST).

A major element in Seoul’s F-X III competition, which was ultimately won by the F-35, was obtaining offset agreements to help develop KFX.

South Korea plans to eventually obtain 120 twin-engined KFX fighters, and 20% programme partner Indonesia 80. The ambitious aircraft will be more advanced than conventional types such as the F-16 but less so than the F-35.

KFX will rely heavily on imported technology, but Seoul sees it as a crucial stepping stone to building a credible aerospace industry.

Over declined to discuss the specifics of what technical assistance Lockheed can offer in the absence of the four export licences – 21 other technology areas do not appear to have raised an export licence red flag.

"I won't get into the specific details, but what we committed to the Korean government was a level of effort, and a certain number of man years in support of that, as well as an amount of documentation that we would transfer,” says Over. “This has to be done under a framework that the US government permits through export licences. That is where the conversation is happening between the two governments right now…this will determine what the US government allows.”

Over also stresses that the US government was kept fully informed about Lockheed’s offset arrangements pertaining to South Korea’s F-35 buy.

“We made sure the US government was fully aware of everything every step of the way,” he says. “The last thing you want when setting up agreements like this is to set us or the customer up for failure. We're doing this in conjunction with the US government, so if we're going to run into an issue, the last thing we want to do is be either implicitly or explicitly committing to something that we ultimately know the US government may have difficulty with."

South Korea’s is acquiring 40 F-35As, with the first example to roll off the Fort Worth assembly line in early 2018 in low-rate initial production lot 10.


​ADEX: Lockheed affirms commitment to Korea F-35 offsets
 
Something new on our CARACAL...
@iwan
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And now appear wannabe analyst who appear know nothing about why US seems reluctant to give some key core technologies to their South Korean partners. The issue is SK is long been known as adept and eager student who is able to reverse engineering everything thrown at them. Potential SK able to sell top of the line fighter with advance technology seems a bad nightmare for US military industry. Surely they dont wanna to made SK irks if they said blatantly their true reasons, as SK is their longtime ally and one of the largest importer of US arms. But thats just my personal comments just like the author of those article with whatever motives he had.
 
And now appear wannabe analyst who appear know nothing about why US seems reluctant to give some key core technologies to their South Korean partners. The issue is SK is long been known as adept and eager student who is able to reverse engineering everything thrown at them. Potential SK able to sell top of the line fighter with advance technology seems a bad nightmare for US military industry. Surely they dont wanna to made SK irks if they said blatantly their true reasons, as SK is their longtime ally and one of the largest importer of US arms. But thats just my personal comments just like the author of those article with whatever motives he had.

In term of avionics, SK is quite advance I believe.

Key radar system for KFX project is 75% complete: Agency for Defense Development

Updated: 2015-11-09 03:16:54 KST

The video is in website


This is a prototype of the active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar system, key to the Korean Fighter Experimental jet project.

The radar functions as the eyes and brain of a fighter jet. The yellow modules act as antennas in airborne operations -- detecting and tracking enemy fighter jets and directing missiles.

The AESA radar is one of the four core technologies the U.S. government barred Lockheed Martin from transferring to Korea, after Korea contracted with Lockheed to buy 40 F-35As.

There was concern the loss of the tech would slow the project down, but the Agency for Defense Development now says Seoul is capable of developing the radar on its own.

"We are currently in the last stage of testing this hardware on land. If we proceed with the testing, we can convert it for fighter jet use."

"The Agency for Defense Development says it has developed about 70 to 75 percent of the technology for the radar. The critical point now is miniaturizing the radar so it's small enough to fit on a fighter jet."

The agency is aiming to have the radar fully developed by 2021. It then plans to conduct more than 100 test flights over the following three to four years and will integrate it into the KF-X project from 2025 to 2028.

The agency also said it has completed development of the three other key technologies the U.S. government refused to transfer to Korea -- an infrared search and track sensor, an electro-optical targeting pod and a radio frequency jammer.

The ADD says it has integrated the technologies into ships and some aircraft, adding that it won't be hard to apply them to the fighter jets.

The KF-X project, worth six.seven billion U.S. dollars, aims to develop 120 fighter jets by 2025 to replace its aging fleet of F-4s and F-5s.

Connie Kim, Arirang News.
Reporter : connie1223@arirang.co.kr

News View | The World On Arirang
 
They are just trying to fasttracking research and development phase, thats way they bought those f35. SK seems learned alot from India case with their Tejas
 
Flir, air refueling probe, slide rows

Flir, air refueling probe, slide row, and gun pod?
 
Gak perlu air refueling probe because we dont have enough tannker aircraft, doñt need rwr and flar chaff because of the conops next dictate not needed those items....
 
PT.DI pantang mundur... PT DI Siap Bersaing untuk Pengadaan Helikopter Kepresidenan

ini-alasan-pt-dirgantara-indonesia-kesampingkan-heli-italia-5aj8DPMAnM.jpg

caracal.jpg

puma2.jpg


Ditambahkan Direktur Komersial dan Restrukturisasi Budiman Saleh, dari segi harga pun jauh lebih murah. Untuk heli EC-725 combat SAR dijual sekitar 25-26 juta euro. Sementara untuk pesawat VVIP kepresidenan, harganya ditambah 10 juta euro. "Jadi ya sekitar 35 juta euro," katanya. Sementara AW-101 sekitar 50 juta euro.
Ini harga kira2 sendiri apa harga AW yang mau diambil TNI AU? tanpa markup 50jt euro? barang digudang bukannya lebih murah?

readmore: PT DI Siap Bersaing untuk Pengadaan Helikopter Kepresidenan
 
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