Foreign firms vie for South Korea’s airborne early warning contract

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — Several international vendors are intent on helping South Korea bolster its airborne early warning and control capability , as the country’s Air Force plans to spend at most $2.26 billion on four aircraft.

After the Defense Acquisition Program Administration issued a request for proposals in November, companies had until Feb. 22 to submit their bids.

South Korea is taking on more self-defense responsibilities from the U.S., and the new quartet of AEW&C aircraft will supplement four Boeing E-737 planes delivered around the 2011-2012 time frame. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration said the new platforms would enhance the South’s “ability to monitor North Korean missiles and defend its airspace.”

Boeing is competing with a 737-based platform again, its E-7 having the advantage of aerial refueling to give on-station times stretching to 20 hours.

“Regarding the capability, the unmatched E-7 multirole electronically scanned array radar sensing and tracking provides the most powerful multidomain surveillance, communications and networked battle-management capabilities of any aircraft,” a Boeing spokesperson told Defense News.

The American company, which is the fifth-largest defense contractor in the world , said the E-7 “is production-ready and offers lower operating and sustainment costs, higher mission readiness rates, and unmatched interoperability.”

Boeing executives at South Korea’s Seoul ADEX defense expo last year claimed a 96% availability rate for the E-7. They also highlighted commonality with existing Korean E-737s. “In addition to crew training efficiencies, the E-7 offers life-cycle cost savings inherent with fleet continuity and a global, common logistics model.”

Saab’s GlobalEye is also competing, with the Swedish company proposing a Bombardier Global 6500 airframe.

Saab believes its design, which mounts an Erieye extended-range radar atop the fuselage, is ideal for South Korea’s Air Force. As well as a hot production line, Saab touted its willingness to transfer technology to enhance Korea’s strategic independence. It also highlighted rapid delivery and affordability.

Saab is the 33rd biggest defense contractor worldwide.

The other contender is American firm L3Harris Technologies in tandem with Korean Air and Israel Aerospace Industries. Its Phoenix solution also uses a Global 6500 and integrates Elta Systems-made conformal radars and artificial intelligence algorithms. L3Harris claimed its design will have low sustainment costs and at least a 95% operational availability rate.

L3Harris is the ninth-largest defense company in the world, while IAI lands at 29. The former noted that an initial two aircraft would undergo modifications in Texas before receiving radar integration in Israel. Korean Air would lead work on the two remaining aircraft in-country, as well as perform sustainment.

“Through L3Harris’ agreements with Korean Air, LIG Nex1 and Ace Antenna, and ongoing discussions with additional Korean partners, the team intends that the aircraft and mission system equipment will be fully supported in Korea,” a spokesperson for the group told Defense News. “This … paves the way for independent domestic research and development, and fostering excellence in aircraft system integration, upgrades and modifications, which will contribute significantly to the advancement of South Korea’s research and development program.”

The Defense Acquisition Program Administration declined to provide Defense News with further details. The agency is now proceeding with evaluations.

Gordon Arthur is an Asia correspondent for Defense News. After a 20-year stint working in Hong Kong, he now resides in New Zealand. He has attended military exercises and defense exhibitions in about 20 countries around the Asia-Pacific region.

新西兰基督城——多家国际供应商致力于帮助韩国加强其空中预警和控制能力，韩国空军计划斥资最多 22.6 亿美元购买四架飞机。

国防采办计划管理局于 11 月发布了征求建议书，各公司必须在 2 月 22 日之前提交投标书。

韩国正从美国手中承担更多自卫责任，这四架新的预警机将与2011-2012年间交付的四架波音E-737预警机形成互补。美国国防采办计划管理局表示，这些新平台将增强韩国“监测朝鲜导弹和保卫其领空的能力”。

波音公司再次以 737 为基础的平台展开竞争，其 E-7 具有空中加油的优势，可在空中停留长达 20 小时。

波音公司发言人告诉《防务新闻》：“就性能而言，无与伦比的 E-7 多用途电子扫描阵列雷达传感和跟踪能力，提供了任何飞机中最强大的多域监视、通信和网络化作战管理能力。”

这家美国公司是世界第五大国防承包商，该公司表示，E-7“已做好生产准备，并具有更低的运营和维护成本、更高的任务准备率和无与伦比的互操作性”。

波音公司高管去年在韩国首尔举行的ADEX防务展上声称，E-7的可用率高达96%。他们还强调了该机型与韩国现有的E-737飞机的通用性。“除了提高机组人员培训效率外，E-7还具有机队连续性和全球通用后勤模式带来的全寿命周期成本节约优势。”

萨博的 GlobalEye 也参与了竞争，这家瑞典公司提议采用庞巴迪 Global 6500 的机身。

萨博公司认为，其在机身顶部安装Erieye远程雷达的设计方案非常适合韩国空军。除了拥有高效的生产线外，萨博还强调其愿意转让技术以增强韩国的战略独立性，并着重介绍了快速交付和价格优势。

萨博是全球第33大国防承包商。

另一家竞争者是美国L3Harris Technologies公司，该公司与大韩航空和以色列航空航天工业公司合作开发了“凤凰”系统。该系统同样采用Global 6500平台，并集成了Elta Systems公司生产的共形雷达和人工智能算法。L3Harris声称其设计维护成本低，且运行可用率至少达到95%。

L3Harris是全球第九大国防公司，而IAI则位列第二十九。L3Harris指出，首批两架飞机将在德克萨斯州进行改装，之后运往以色列进行雷达集成。大韩航空将负责剩余两架飞机在以色列的改装工作以及后续维护。

L3Harris公司的一位发言人告诉《防务新闻》：“通过与大韩航空、LIG Nex1和Ace Antenna达成的协议，以及与更多韩国合作伙伴的持续磋商，团队计划确保飞机和任务系统设备在韩国得到全面支持。这将为韩国的独立自主研发铺平道路，并促进飞机系统集成、升级和改装方面的卓越发展，从而极大地推动韩国研发项目的进步。”

美国国防采办项目管理局拒绝向《防务新闻》提供更多细节。该机构目前正在进行评估工作。

戈登·阿瑟是《防务新闻》的亚洲特派记者。在香港工作20年后，他现居新西兰。他曾到访亚太地区约20个国家，参加过军事演习和防务展览。