South Korea’s decision to buy Lockheed Martin’s [LMT] F-35A for its next-generation fighter jet platform called F-X also includes the United States supplying it with a ready-to-operate military secure communications satellite as part of a robust technology transfer program.
Lockheed Martin spokesman Michael Rein said Monday in an email this new satellite, which will be launched and placed into orbit by the United States, will be fully owned and operated by South Korea. The project will also include all necessary control equipment and technical training. Lockheed Martin spokesman Eric Schnaible said Monday it is too early to say which military satellite communications (MILSATCOM) capability the satellite will provide, but that it will be reviewed as government-to-government negotiations get underway “soon.” Schnaible said the two nations have a third quarter 2014 goal for a letter of acceptance signing.
“Secure satellite communications is a critical technology for advanced nations and owning a satellite ensures the highest priority and availability for a spectrum of highly sensitive military communications,” Rein said in an email.
The F-35A deal, announced early Monday, also includes technical support, documentation, design expertise and development investments for South Korea’s indigenous fighter jet program known as KF-X. Rein said Lockheed Martin will specifically provide more than 300 man-years of engineering expertise to assist South Korea in KF-X design and development. The company will also supply more than 500,000 pages of fighter aircraft technical documentation derived from company programs such as F-16, F-22 and F-35. The Vice Chief of Staff of South Korea’s Air Force, Lt. Gen. Hyungchul Kim, said Friday the KF-X program will eventually replace the nation’s F-4 and F-5 fleet of jets.
Reuters reported that South Korea expects to pay about $6.8 billion for 40 jets in this foreign military sale (FMS) deal. The F-35A is the U.S. designation for the F-35 conventional takeoff and landing variant (CTOL).