Two ROKAF KF-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft take off from Kunsan Air Base in South Korea. Photo USAF

28 January 2014 airforce-technology.com

Raytheon has been awarded a contract to support the upgrade of the Republic of Korea Air Force's (ROKAF) KF-16C/D Block 52 Fighting Falcon fighter aircraft fleet.

Awarded by BAE Systems, the contract covers supply of an integrated solution comprising Raytheon advanced combat radar (RACR), ALR-69A all-digital radar warning receiver, and advanced mission computing technology and weapon systems integration for the 130 KF-16C/D Block 52 fleet.

Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems International Strategy and Business Development vice-president Jim Hvizd said the competitive selection of RACR by South Korea last year gave the company an important foothold in the international F-16 upgrade market.

"The addition of our EW and mission computing expertise and our weapon systems integration will provide the Republic of Korea with an operationally superior solution that will keep their KF-16s relevant for years to come," Hvizd said.

Apart from making South Korea the first international customer for F-16 RACR radar, the contract also adds the aircraft to an inventory of fighters retrofitted with Raytheon active electronically scanned array (AESA) radars, such as F-15C, F-15E, F/A-18E/F and the EA-18G Growler.

Already built and test-flown on the F-16, the RACR is a compact, lightweight and scalable radar designed to enable pilots to simultaneously detect, identify and track multiple air and surface targets in the battlefield.

The contract's value and additional details, including delivery schedule, remain undisclosed.

Powered by F100-PW-229 engines, the KF-16 is a Korean version of the combat proven F-16 fighter, and was built by Korean Aerospace Industries (KAI) under license from its manufacturer, Lockheed Martin, in the 1990s.

25 June 2012 airforce-technology.com

The selection of winner in the Republic of Korea Air Force's (ROKAF) multi-billion dollar F-X Fighter programme could be postponed at any time if in the national interest, the country's arms procurement agency's head has revealed.

Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) commissioner, Noh Dae-Rae, said: ''Our plan to make a decision by the end of October is not a deadline, but a target."

DAPA has already received proposals from three aircraft manufacturers, which included US companies such as Boeing, Lockheed Martin and European EADS Consortium, for the KRW8 tn ($6.9bn) fighter jet contract on 18 June.

Boeing had proposed F-15 Silent Eagle, while Lockheed and Eurofighter offered F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) and the Typhoon, respectively, for the competition.

In accordance with the original plans, the test flights were scheduled for September, followed by announcement of the winner in October 2012; however, the bidding was cancelled by DAPA, citing errors in the relevant documents.

DAPA had set a new deadline of 5 July 2012 for the submission of bids.

The process ran into controversy after Lockheed refused real test flights by ROKAF's pilots, to assess the performance of aircraft and rather stressed for evaluation by using simulators, saying the fighter is still being developed.

The ROKAF is planning to acquire a total of 60 advanced fighter jets as part of the contract, with aim for deployment from 2016.