Placeholder Image

Subtitles section Play video

  • Korea has signed a multibillion dollar contract on its homegrown fighter jet project.

  • Codenamed K-FX,... it′s Korea′s largest weapons development project that aims

  • to produce scores of fighter jets within the next 15 years.

  • Butthere are stumbling blocks along the way.

  • Our Connie Kim joins us from Seoul′s defense ministry.

  • Conniehalf a year we waited for this signing to happenwhat does this contract mean

  • Connyoungwith Korea′s Defense Acquisition Program Administration and the

  • nation′s only aircraft maker Korea Aerospace Industries signing a contract on Monday afternoon

  • Seoul will push ahead to develop its first indigenous fighter jets.

  • Under the pactthe country hopes to produce 120 homegrown midtier fighter jets by 2032

  • to replace its aging fleet of F-4s and F-5s.

  • The contract signing of the nation′s largest weapons development project was delayed six

  • months than originally planned.

  • Negotiations with Indonesia delayed the signing and there were changes in domestic

  • developments which needed to be reflected.″ 20-percent of the 15-billion dollar fighter

  • jet program will be invested by Indonesia based on a deal signed with Korea Aerospace

  • Industries. Participating in design process and component

  • productionJakarta will in turn receive one prototype plane and technological data

  • from Korea. With the signing of the contract taking place

  • later than plannedproduction of six test planes is expected to be completed by 2026.

  • In January, a task force team of 70 to 80 officials and experts will be launched.

  • Howeverdevelopment of Korea′s first indigenous fighter jet will have to overcome

  • several hurdles yet. It needs to develop four core technologies

  • including the active electronically scanned radar as the U.S. barred Lockheed Martin from

  • transferring those technologies to Seoul in April.

  • Although the U.S. government approved the transfer of the remaining 21 technologies

  • this month,... concerns remainas Korea may not receive a number of specific subtechnologies

  • needed for the project.

  • Other lingering concerns are that the government budget for the KF-X project has been cut

  • to about 57 million dollars next year and that the fighter jet development timeline

  • has been pushed back,... making it hard to recoup investment. Connyoung?″

  • Connie Kim reporting from the Ministry of National Defense. Thank you indeed.

Korea has signed a multibillion dollar contract on its homegrown fighter jet project.

Subtitles and vocabulary

Click the word to look it up Click the word to find further inforamtion about it