TSAMTO, July 5. The Defense Subcommittee of the Government of the Republic of Korea has supported the proposal to purchase additional F-35A Lightning-2 multi-purpose fighters from the United States for the country's Air Force.
As confirmed by Jane's Defense Weekly, without disclosing details, a representative of the Defense Procurement Programs Agency (DAPA) The Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Korea, a proposal for the supply of 20 F-35A aircraft is under consideration.
South Korean media reported on June 29 that on June 9, the project was approved by the subcommittee of the Committee for the promotion of defense projects. The preliminary cost of the second batch of F-35A will be 3.9 trillion. won ($3 billion). The aircraft can be delivered by 2030.
As stated, the purchase was considered due to the fact that the administration of President Yun Seok-yeon seeks to strengthen the country's defense potential to counter nuclear and missile threats from the DPRK.
The information on the purchase of these aircraft corresponds to Seoul's previous statements about its interest in acquiring 20 additional fighters. Nevertheless, in May, in the law on the supplementary budget approved by the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea, defense spending for 2022 was reduced by more than 1.5 trillion. won ($1.2 billion).
To the greatest extent (by 228.6 billion won), financing for the acquisition of aircraft was cut, however, according to Jane's experts, the F-35 program is important enough for the Republic of Korea that budget cuts do not apply to it.
The offer to purchase the fighters came three months after the Ministry of National Defense of the Republic of Korea announced on March 28 that all 40 F-35A fighters of the first batch had been adopted by the Air Force.
According to the Yonhap news agency, the proposal is likely to be considered on July 13 at a meeting of the full committee. A DAPA representative told Jane's that if a positive decision is made, the agency will develop a feasibility study for the acquisition and conduct other follow-up procedures.
As reported by TSAMTO, in March 2013, the US State Department approved the supply to the Republic of Korea under the Foreign Military Sales program of 60 F-35A fighters, related equipment and services worth a total 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 from 2018 to 2021. On September 30, 2014, the Republic of Korea signed a letter with an offer and acceptance of an offer to purchase 40 F-35A Lightning-2, the cost of which is estimated at 7.3 trillion. won ($7.04 billion).
The first pair of F-35A Lightning-2 fighters landed at the Cheongju Air Base of the Republic of Korea Air Force on March 29, 2019. In December 2021, Lockheed Martin completed the delivery of all 40 ordered F-35A Block 3 fighters to the Republic of Korea.
The previous administration of the Republic of Korea was more inclined to purchase additional F-35B aircraft to equip the promising CVX light aircraft carrier.
It is now assumed that 20 additional aircraft will be delivered in the F-35A Block variant.4, featuring improved electronic countermeasures, an electron-optical system and capable of carrying more ammunition.
