South Korea goes ahead with jet program

SEOUL - Reuters

South Korea has received at least one qualifying bid for its jet program. AP photo

South Korea said on Aug. 16 that at least one bid came in under budget for its 8.3 trillion Korean won ($7.42 billion) purchase of 60 next generation fighter jets, the country’s biggest-ever defence import program.

A spokesman at the government’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said at a briefing on Aug. 16 that a comprehensive evaluation would start and that a winner was expected to be chosen in mid-September. He declined to give the number or name of the companies that had submitted the required price.

DAPA resumed the bidding this week after suspending the process in July. Lockheed Martin Corp’s F-35, Boeing Co’s F-15 and EADS’s Eurofighter Typhoon are in the race.