SEOUL, May 26 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s state arms procurement agency on Thursday said it has picked U.S. company General Electric (GE) as the preferred bidder to supply engines for the country’s next-generation fighter jets.
The U.S. company has been picked as the supplier for the Korean Fighter Experimental (KF-X) program, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA).
European engine maker Eurojet Turbo GmbH and GE had been vying to become the engine provider for the 18 trillion-won (US$15.3 billion) project that calls for building 120 locally made twin-engine combat jets.
Seoul aims to deploy the new planes starting in the mid-2020s to replace its aging fleet of F-4s and F-5s jets.
(Yonhap)