TSAMTO, January 28. The Republic of Korea Air Force has completed the acceptance and deployment of all 40 fifth-generation F-35A Lightning-2 fighters purchased in the United States.
According to the Yonhap news agency, the last four planes arrived on January 25 at the Cheongju Air Base, 140 km south of Seoul.
Initially, the delivery of 40 aircraft was planned to be completed in 2021, but it was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In early January 2022, the Republic of Korea Air Force suspended the operation of all F-35A, after one of the aircraft made an emergency landing during a training flight on January 4 due to problems with avionics.
As reported by TSAMTO, in March 2013, the Agency for Security Cooperation (DSCA) of the US Defense Ministry notified Congress of the planned supply to the Republic of Korea under the Foreign Military Sales program of 60 fifth-generation F-35A fighters, related equipment and services with a total cost of $ 10.8 billion.
In November 2013, the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Korea, based on the results of the tender, recommended the purchase of 40 F-35A fighters, which were planned to be delivered in the period from 2018 to 2021. As it was stated at the time, an additional 20 fighters may be purchased later.
In September 2014, the Executive committee of the Defense Procurement Programs Agency of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Korea approved the signing of a letter with a proposal and acceptance of an offer to purchase 40 F-35 Lightning-2, the cost of which is estimated at 7.3 trillion. won ($7.04 billion). The document was signed on September 30, 2014.
The ceremony of rolling out the first F-35A "Lightning-2" fighter, intended for delivery to the Republic of Korea Air Force, took place at Lockheed Martin in Fort Worth (pcs.Texas) on March 28, 2018. The first pair of F-35A Lightning-2 fighters landed at the Cheongju Air Base on March 29, 2019.
In February 2019, the US government selected a consortium of South Korean companies to provide maintenance and repair services for the F-35 aircraft of the Republic of Korea Air Force. The consortium, called Team ROK, included Hanwha Systems, Hanwha Aerospace, Korean Air Aerospace Division (KAL-ASD), LIG Nex1 and Hyundai Glovis.
In August 2020, South Korean media reported that the Republic of Korea intends to double the number of purchased F-35 Lightning-2. In total, it is planned to purchase an additional 40 aircraft, the cost of which is estimated at 8 trillion. won ($6.7 billion). In particular, 20 units of the F-35B in the version with a short takeoff and vertical landing should be purchased to equip a light aircraft carrier, as well as another 20 F-35A fighters.
