South Korea Defense Expo Kicks Off

An international aerospace and defense exhibition kicked off here Tuesday with more than 300 defense firms at home and abroad participating in the biennial event.

A model of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is displayed Oct. 28 during a press day for the Seoul International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition in Goyang, north of Seoul.

A total of 360 aerospace and defense contractors from 28 countries as well as top military officials and CEOs from 45 nations are participating in the fair, the ninth of its kind, to showcase their latest weapons systems and technologies.

The exhibition at the Korea International Exhibition Hall (KINTEX) in Ilsan, just north of Seoul, continues through Nov. 3. The fair is focused on arms exhibition; an air show was held separately last week at an air base outside Seoul.

“This is the largest defense fair ever held in Seoul,” South Korea’s Defense Ministry Kim Kwan-jin said in a welcoming reception at a Seoul hotel Monday. “This exhibition is expected to serve as a venue for global aerospace and defense companies to boost their exchanges and cooperation further.”

This year’s show drew attention in the aftermath of a fiasco for the country’s fighter jet procurement program.

Last month, a top decision-making body of the country’s arms acquisition agency turned down the selection of Boeing’s F-15 Silent Eagle, which remained as the sole bidder after its competitors — Lockheed Martin’s F-35A Joint Strike Fighter and the Eurofighter Typhoon — had been priced out before final evaluations.

A task force led by officials from the Ministry of National Defense was set up to review the requirements before restarting the fighter jet project, codenamed the F-X III, for 60 high-end aircraft to replace the older fleet of the F-4s and F-5s.

Boeing, which won the previous two phases of the F-X plans for 60 aircraft, is still waiting on South Korea to re-issue its new requirements for the F-X III program.

“I think we’re reasonably confident that there is still prospect for the F-15,” said Howard Berry, Boeing’s F-X III campaign director. “Obviously, we’re waiting with much interest with what happens with the current task force team’s evaluations.”

Nevertheless, Boeing appeared to withdraw its Silent Eagle marketing in Korea, as the company is displaying an advanced F-15 model, not the Silent Eagle

KAI Proposes Smaller KF-X Design

Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) is pushing for South Korea to cut the technical challenges of its proposed KF-X fighter program, offering a single-engine concept that probably has a distant connection with the Lockheed Martin F-16. KAI's KFX-E design should be cheaper to develop and build than the larger proposals put forward by the Agency for Defense Development (ADD), the chief proponent of the KF-X.

Also much smaller than and more differentiated from the Lockheed Martin F-35, the KFX-E may offer the further advantage of minimizing competition from that U.S. stealth fighter. But it may have Lockheed Martin or other U.S. intellectual property in its design, exposing it to a foreign veto over sales or even development.

Seoul will probably have a foreign alternative to consider, too. Western proposals for KF-X include twin-tail developments of the F-16 and Eurofighter Typhoon, and an advanced version of the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. Those offerings were included as technology transfer in bids for the separate F-X Phase 3 program for 60 fighters. F-X Phase 3 has been abandoned, but a successor competition will be needed, probably reviving foreign KF-X proposals.

KAI has moved from cooperation to competition with ADD. For a decade, the manufacturer was a design contractor in support of the agency. But industry officials say that at least some KAI executives have long regarded ADD's plan to develop a twin-engine Typhoon-size KF-X as too ambitious. Meanwhile, the South Korean government has repeatedly deferred launching the KF-X. If it goes ahead, it cannot enter service before the mid-2020s. Cutting costs by accepting a smaller size would probably improve the program's chances.

In July, KAI coyly published a picture of a stealthy KF-X concept related to its T-50 supersonic trainer and called KFX-E (or KF-X-E). It gave no details then and did not respond to Aviation Week's request for comment (AW&ST July 22, p. 33). But now the company has stepped up to make its case for the aircraft, arguing at an official seminar that the KFX-E would meet all air force requirements, except for being powered by just one engine.

S. Korea Envisions Light Aircraft Carrier

The South Korean Navy believes it can deploy two light aircraft carriers by 2036 and expand its blue-water force to cope with the rapid naval buildups of China and Japan, according to a Navy source.

The service has been exploring ways of securing light aircraft carriers based on an interim feasibility study, the source said.

“It’s a hope,” the Navy source said on condition of anonymity. “There are no fixed requirements at the moment, but we’ve been studying ways of launching light aircraft carriers over the next two decades.”

Rep. Chung Hee-soo of the ruling Saenuri Party revealed the contents of a program in a feasibility report last week.

“To cope with potential maritime disputes with neighboring countries, we need to secure aircraft carriers as soon as possible,” Chung, a member of the National Assembly’s Defense Committee, said during a confirmation hearing Oct. 11 for Adm. Choi Yoon-hee, new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. “For more active international peacekeeping operations, our Navy should have carriers.”

According to Chung, the Navy envisions three phases:

■The first is to equip the second ship of the Dokdo-class landing platform helicopter ship (LPH) with a ski ramp to operate short-range or vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft.

The flight surface of the landing ship is already sprayed with urethane, which can withstand the heat created by the aircraft during operations.

Dokdo, with the addition of a ski ramp, could be deployed before 2019, according to the report, which suggests the Navy procure used VTOL jets from the US, UK and Spain if needed.

■Second, the Navy could build an amphibious assault ship, similar to the Spanish Navy’s Juan Carlos, before 2019.

■Finally, the service aims to build two 30,000-ton light aircraft carriers between 2028 and 2036, the report said. The carrier is to have specifications similar to the Italian aircraft carrier Cavour, which can support about 30 aircraft.

“We should have capabilities to deter North Korea, and at the same time, we need minimal capabilities to respond to potential threats from neighboring countries,” Choi replied to Chung, apparently referring to the naval buildups of China and Japan.

China commissioned its first aircraft carrier last year, with three more carriers planned. Japan, whose Navy is classed as a self-defense force, has controversially unveiled a 20,000-ton helicopter detroyer akin to a small aircraft carrier.

More Aegis Ships and Jets

During the National Assembly last week, the Navy unveiled mid- to long-term procurement plans to further strengthen its naval power.

The service plans to commission three more 7,600-ton KDX-III Aegis destroyers by 2023 to develop a strategic mobile fleet. The service has three KDX-III destroyers fitted with Lockheed Martin-built SPY-1D radar capable of tracking incoming ballistic missiles and enemy aircraft.

“The construction of new Aegis ships could be completed earlier than scheduled,” Adm. Hwang Gi-chul, chief of naval operations, testified. “And the new Aegis ships will have better stealth functions than those with the existing ships.”

The Navy will also launch six, 5,900-ton next-generation destroyers — dubbed KDDX — after 2023.

The development of an attack submarine is on track, according to the Navy. The service plans to commission six more 1,800-ton Type 214 submarines to bring the 214 fleet to nine subs by 2023. After that, it will deploy nine, 3,000-ton heavy attack submarines codenamed KSS-III. The KSS-III is to be equipped with a vertical launch tube to fire a 1,500-kilometer cruise missile that can hit key targets in North Korea.

Other procurement plans include the FFX program to build a dozen new frigates with advanced sensors and a wide variety of weaponry. The FFX program is intended to replace the aging fleet of existing Ulsan class frigates and Pohang class corvettes with multimission frigates.

The 2,300- to 3,000-ton FFX vessels are to be built in two batches with an objective of putting up to 24 ships into service by 2026.

The Navy also puts a priority on acquiring reconnaissance and surveillance aircraft. In particular, the service laid out plans to buy the Lockheed S-3 Vikings retired from front-fleet service aboard aircraft carriers by the US Navy in January 2009.

The service will purchase 18 S-3 jets and modify them into a new configuration meeting the Navy’s operational requirements. If adopted, it will be the first fixed-wing jet patrol aircraft operated by the South Korean Navy, which flies 16 P-3CK turboprop patrol aircraft.

“The S-3 introduction will offer a great opportunity for the ROK Navy to operate a carrier-based jet, as the service envisions deploying aircraft carriers in the future,” Kim Dae-young, a research member of the Korea Defense & Security Forum, a private defense think tank here. “From the operational perspective, the S-3 is expected to be used for various purposes, such as patrol, surface warfare and aerial refueling.”

In order to beef up its anti-submarine operation, the Navy will procure six more new naval helicopters by 2022.

In January, AgustaWestland won a $560 million contract to supply the South Korean Navy with six AW159 Lynx Wildcat helicopters equipped with an active dipping sonar for anti-submarine role.

South Korean Cyber Unit Probed Over Election Meddling

South Korean President Park Geun-Hye attends the 16th ASEAN-Korea summit in Brunei on Oct. 9. The country's defense ministry has acknowledged that four members of the cyber unit had posted comments online prior to last year's election.

South Korea’s Defence Ministry said Tuesday that senior members of its cyber warfare unit had been questioned over their possible involvement in a widening scandal over state interference in elections.

Areas of the unit’s headquarters were searched and several of its commanders questioned, a ministry official said.

The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) has accused the unit of posting online comments prior to last year’s presidential election, smearing opposition candidate Moon Jae-In and extolling his ruling party rival — and eventual winner — Park Geun-Hye.

Similar accusations against members of the National Intelligence Service (NIS) have already resulted in the arrest of the former head of the domestic spy agency.

The defense ministry has acknowledged that four members of the cyber unit had posted such comments, but insists they acted alone and not as part of any coordinated campaign.

The defense ministry set up the 400-member special unit in 2010 as part of efforts to expand the military’s cyber warfare capability to counter hacking threats from North Korea.

The accusations of meddling by state agencies in the electoral process has been simmering away for months, but has gained traction in the past week, with a senior prosecutor investigating the affair saying his team had been pressured to go slow with the probe.

Korean Defense Ties Deepen with Minesweeper Purchase

The Pondicherry-class minesweeper Kozhikode was built for the Indian Navy by Russia. India plans to buy eight mine countermeasures vessels from South Korea to replace its aging ships. 

NEW DELHI — India’s Defence Ministry has decided to award a US $1.2 billion contract to Kangnam Corp. for eight mine-countermeasure vessels in India’s first big-ticket defense program with South Korea.

The deal has been cleared ahead of Indian Defence Minister A.K. Antony’s planned visit to Seoul later this year, and will help boost defense ties with South Korea, an Indian MoD official said.

The finalization of the contract was delayed after Italy’s Intermarine, which was competing for the contract, approached India’s anti-fraud agency, the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), with issues related to the transparency of the procurement. The CVC cleared the purchase last year, but the MoD has since dragged its feet in deciding to award the contract, the source said.

India is reaching out to friendly nations in the region, including Japan and South Korea, as part of its Look East policy in a bid to contain the rising influence of China, said defense analyst Mahindra Singh.

The Indian Navy is likely to give additional orders to the South Korean company for the countermine ships, since the service has a requirement for more than 24 minesweepers, an MoD source said. The Indian Navy operates 12 aging Pondicherry and Karwar-class minesweepers.

The purchase of the new countermine ships is part of a long-term plan to acquire vessels for littoral warfare, including large landing platform decks, fast attack craft and advanced offshore patrol vessels.

In 2008, India sent bids for the countermine ships to Kangnam, Intermarine, Northrop Grumman, Izhar of Spain and DCN International of France.

The Navy has wanted new minesweepers for more than 13 years, but delays in procurement due to bureaucratic red tape have been holding back the order.

According to the deal, the first two minesweepers will be constructed at Pusan, South Korea, and the remaining six will be built at the Goa Shipyard through technology transfers.

South Korea has become a big-ticket supplier of weapons to India — along with Russia, Israel, the United States and France — and is aggressively tapping India’s $100 billion weapons market.

Samsung has jointly developed a howitzer gun with Indian private-sector company Larsen & Toubro, and it is likely to put up a tough fight against Russia’s Rosoboronoexport in the quest to supply 155mm/52-caliber tracked guns.

The Larsen & Toubro-Samsung team is competing with Rosoboronexport, and with state-owned Bharat Earth Movers Ltd. (BEML), which has partnered with Slovakian company Konstrukha.

The Indian Army wants to buy 100 tracked guns valued at more than $750 million. The tender, issued in 2011, was a rebid of a 2007 tender, which went to India’s Tata Power SED, Larsen & Toubro, BEML and Rosoboronexport.

South Korean firm Doosan has also been given a tender this year for the purchase of 104 self-propelled gun missile systems to replace aging Russian Kvadrat systems.

Indo-South Korean defense ties began in 2005, when the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding on defense logistics and supplies.

In 2007, the defense ministers of the two countries met to hash out a defense cooperation plan, which was followed in 2010 by the signing of a declaration of strategic partnership

.

BOEING F-15SE SILENT EAGLE SELECTED FOR SOUTH KOREAN AIR FORCE

The South Korean air force has managed to derail the selection of the Boeing F-15SE Silent Eagle for its F-X Phase 3 fighter requirement, instead pushing for the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning but again raising doubts about the openness of the country’s combat aircraft competitions.

Boeing F-15SE Silent Eagle Selected for South Korean Air Force

The South Korean air force has managed to derail the selection of the Boeing F-15SE Silent Eagle for its F-X Phase 3 fighter requirement, instead pushing for the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning but again raising doubts about the openness of the country’s combat aircraft competitions.

The decision appears to deprive Boeing of its best chance of sustaining the F-15 production line past 2018, when the last unit is due to be completed for Saudi Arabia. The South Korean order has offered to underpin development of features that would increase the combat effectiveness of the type, making it more attractive to additional customers.

South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Executive Committee on Tuesday decided to restart the F-X Phase 3 competition, despite a decision in August that the F-15 was the only contender that met the F-X Phase 3 budget of 8.3 trillion won ($7.7 billion) for 60 aircraft. The losing types were the F-35 and Eurofighter Typhoon, the latter eliminated because of a bidding irregularity. A decision in the reopened competition is to be made within a year.

The air force, which industry and government officials say has always wanted the F-35 for the requirement, especially after Japan chose the type in 2011, mounted a barely veiled campaign against the F-15 after its selection. Retired air force generals, for example, criticized the decision, making public statements that serving officers could not express. Unnamed air force officers were quoted in the press saying that, with the selection of the F-15, the program was “veering onto a wrong course, contrary to original aims,” presumably the F-35.

If South Korea does eventually choose the F-35, it will be the third non-partner country, after Japan, to order the aircraft despite its cost and the risk of renewed development difficulties. 

South Korea’s problem is that this is the second time in 11 years in which one of its fighter requirements appears to have been predetermined, suggesting that bidders may be wasting their marketing money in competitions that are not competitions at all. After Boeing won the F-X Phase 1 competition for 40 fighters with the F-15K in 2002, losing contender Dassault said it would not take part in future South Korean fighter competitions. The French company had evidently concluded that its bid, however attractive, could never have won.

For the F-X Phase 2 requirement for 20 fighters, no competing manufacturers took South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Agency seriously when it called for alternatives to the F-15. Boeing was the only bidder. In 2008 it contracted to supply 21 F-15Ks, including a replacement for one that had crashed.

The defense ministry explains the setting aside of the F-15 selection for F-X Phase 3 partly in terms of threats from North Korean nuclear arms and “asymmetric weapons.” But South Korean government officials have said that the threat on the Korean peninsula has not been a major issue in the requirement. Moreover, the North Korean threat is hardly new.

The ministry also cites rapid advances in aeronautical technology. The major new technical development among South Korea’s neighbors in recent years has been the appearance of China’s J-20 stealth fighter prototype. But that was more than two years ago, during which time the ministry did not move to call a halt to F-X Phase 3.

Defense ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok almost announced the decision of planned new competition. “There is a consensus that South Korea needs the fifth-generation fighter jet to deter the growing threat posed by North Korea,” Yonhap news quoted him as saying. Only the F-35 meets that definition.

Another difficulty for South Korea is that the F-4 Phantom and F-5 Tiger fighters that F-X Phase 3 is to replace are already of doubtful combat value. The replacements were supposed to arrive between 2017 and 2021.

“Boeing is deeply disappointed by the Republic of Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Executive Committee decision,” says the F-15’s manufacturer. “Boeing has rigorously followed the Defense Acquisition Program Administration’s instructions throughout the entire process. We await details from DAPA on its basis for the delay while evaluating our next options.”

Lockheed Martin says it will continue to support the U.S. government in the process. The F-35 would be sold under the government’s Foreign Military Sales system.

Throughout the competition, EADS and its partners in the Eurofighter consortium always had to wonder whether they were only a stalking horse for the U.S. fighters, especially the F-35. Quite apart from the South Korean air force’s preference for the F-35, South Korea is always under diplomatic pressure to award major defense import contracts to suppliers from the U.S., whose armed forces guarantee its security.

A key question now is whether Eurofighter and Boeing will bid again, especially in view of the defense ministry’s declaration that a “fifth-generation” fighter is needed. Boeing will “explore all of its options,” says an industry source. That will presumably include whether to do more work in developing the F-15SE, which offered limited stealth, advanced avionics integration, and considerable payload-radius, as well as a moderate price in competition with the F-35.

Boeing is under contract to deliver 84 new-build F-15SAs to Saudi Arabia. Though Boeing should finish building them in 2018, the last is due for delivery in 2019. Long lead items would normally be ordered about two years before aircraft delivery, so Boeing appears to have about three years in which to drum up new F-15 business.

South Korean SSM-700K Hae Sung I (Sea Star) Anti-ship Missile

SSM-700K Hae Sung I (Sea Star) Anti-ship Missile which are deployed guided missile destroyers of Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN)

Top Ten Military Expenditure Database

List of countries by military expenditures :

1. United States : 682,478,000,000 $


2. People's Republic of China :166,107,000,000$

3. Russia : 90,749,000,000$

4. United Kingdom : 61,007,000,000$

5. Japan :59,267,000,000$

6. France :58,943,000,000$

7. Saudi Arabia :56,724,000,000$

8. India : 45,785,000,000$

9. Germany : 43,478,000,000$

10. Italy : 34,004,000,000$

11. Brazil : 33,143,000,000$

12. South Korea : 31,660,000,000$

13. Australia : 31,660,000,000$

14. Canada : 22,600,000,000$

15. Turkey : 18,184,000,000$

    Indonesia, US Deepen Defense Ties Amid         Exercises and Arms Deals

AKARTA  — US and Indonesian military ties are growing as evidenced by US participation in the recent US-Indonesian joint-funded Coun­terterrorism Exercise (CTX) held Sept. 5-13 at Indonesia’s peacekeeping forces training center in Sentul, West Java.

Participants included all special operations forces of the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations member countries, plus eight counterpart states: the US, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, China, India and Russia.

However, Indonesia’s best special operations force, the infamous Kopassus, was excluded from participating in the CTX due to past US complaints about human rights abuses by the unit during the 1999 East Timor crisis, in which civilians were murdered, kidnapped and tortured.

The Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) is implementing military modernization efforts, but excluding Kopassus remains a problem, experts say. The TNI suffered from the US arms embargo after the 1999 crisis. The Kopassus are the best trained and disciplined unit within TNI, and exclusion from training opportunities by the US will be difficult.

The US allowed the Kopassus to attend the CTX, but only as observers. The CTX was divided into several programs, including a tabletop exercise, practical exercise, discussions, information sharing and special simulation.

“Kopassus, just like US special operations, operates according to rule of law and under the direct control by civilian authorities,” said US Army Col. Mike Lwin, with Special Operations Command-Pacific, who led the US team to the CTX. “We know there are some problems in the past, and there are some processes that we are working through on both sides, but I think in general, we look forward to increase engagement over the future in accordance with our political direction with Kopassus. We see the need for increased relationships, and we are moving there. But we take guidance, of course, from our civilian leaders.”

Though planning for the CTX began in April 2012, a Kopassus source said the decision to exclude the elite unit from the tabletop exercise was made only days before the event officially kicked off. The tabletop exercise was fully funded by the US military.

In the wake of humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations that followed the tsunami in Indonesia’s Aceh province in 2004, the US reviewed its restriction on arms sales and military cooperation with Indonesia. The US imposed the restriction after the Indonesian government failed to stop violence from taking place in East Timor amid the 1999 referendum for independence.

The revision was implemented in stages, first by lifting the embargo on US sales of non-lethal equipment. Contemporary threats — including terrorism and the rise in tension in the South China Sea — were part of the US motivation for change.

“Respecting the rule of law is a must, and countering terrorism should not be left alone to the hand of legal enforcers as it requires total response from all elements of the nation,” Indonesian Deputy Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin told Defense News. “We could achieve success in countering terrorism if we are able to deeply understand the philosophic and universal principle of terrorism, which has now been able to develop its modus operandi, ranging from the low-level to the high-level intensity.”

During his recent visit to Indonesia, US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced the US plan to sell a fleet of AH-64E Apache attack helicopters to the Indonesian Army for $500 million. As part of the package, the US also will offer training to Indonesian pilots on tactics, techniques and procedures for operating the Apache. The TNI expects to receive the first two Apaches by 2014, with final delivery by 2019.

In 2011, the US agreed to sell 24 used F-16 Block 2 5 fighter aircraft for US $700 million. As part of the deal, the US will upgrade the fighter jets to Block 52, to include supplying 18 air-to-ground missiles and 36 captive air training missiles.

The two squadrons of F-16s will join 16 Russian-made Sukhoi fighters — eight Su-27s and eight Su-30s — for the Indonesian Air Force. Another squadron of South Korean-built T-50 Golden Eagle trainer jets is scheduled to arrive in 2014.

The Indonesian Navy is also undergoing modernization. Next year, the Indonesian Marine Corps will receive light patrol vessels, amphibious tanks and rockets. Two South Korean-made Chang Bongo-class submarines are slated to arrive next year, followed by a joint project with Indonesia’s state-owned PT Penataran Angkatan Laut (PT PAL) to produce a similar type of submarine as part of technology transfer agreement with South Korea.

The submarines’ technology is an upgrade from the German-designed HDW 209 and 214 types.

Indonesia requires more than just three submarines to safeguard its maritime coasts and exclusive economic zone. The Malacca Strait is one of the busiest waterways in the world. An ideal number of submarines for Indonesia would be 18 to 24 vessels.

On Sept. 24, the Indonesian Army began receiving German-made Leopard main battle tanks. The Indonesian Army has purchased 104 Leopard tanks and 50 Marder infantry fighting vehicles and other assorted vehicles from Germany.

The Indonesian government has decided to modernize its weaponry systems by allocating a budget of no less than 57 trillion rupiahs (US $5 billion) during the 2010-2014 fiscal period out of 156 trillion rupiahs allocated for the defense sector during the period.

Indonesia has pursued two mechanisms for procurement — imports and domestic development. Apart from PT PAL, Indonesia also has PT Pindad, a state-owned arms producer, and PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PT DI), which produces military aircraft. A number of aircraft for the Indonesian Air Force has come through the cooperation with PT DI, such as the Bell 412 helicopter, Bolcow 105 and Cassa 212.

For the Army, PT Pindad has supplied handguns and rifles.

The company also provides ammunition for small-caliber weapons as well as an armored vehicle, the six-wheel Panser APS.