Posted on 07/15/2010 10:22:28 PM PDT by ErnstStavroBlofeld
Indonesia agreed on Thursday to join a South Korean project to develop a new fighter jet which has been delayed for years by technical and budget problems.
Indonesia will acquire about 50 of the KF-X fighters in return for shouldering 20 percent of the development costs in the multi-million dollar project, the South Korean defense ministry said.
The two sides also agreed to work together in production and marketing.
The deal was signed in Seoul by Byun Moo-Keun, commissioner for the ministry’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), and his Indonesian counterpart Eris Herryanto.
South Korea launched the project in 2000 to produce home-built fighters equipped with stealth capabilities.
After delays due to questions about its economic and technical feasibility, President Lee Myung-Bak agreed in January to push ahead with the project amid growing tensions with North Korea.
South Korea plans to decommission all of its ageing F-4 and F-5 fighter jets by 2020. Yonhap news agency said around 170 F-5s operate in South Korea.
The planes, first flown in South Korea in 1975, have suffered a number of crashes.
“Exploratory development will start next year, and we plan to produce the new fighter jets after a final feasibility study in late 2012,” a DAPA spokesman told AFP.
(Excerpt) Read more at thejakartaglobe.com ...
Ping
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QvH0zTpQe8
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.