Category: ROK Military

Here is the latest on South Korea’s efforts to develop a new fighter jet:

The State Department said Tuesday, amid skepticism over the project’s prospects following the U.S.’ refusal to hand over core technologies.

The department has denied export licenses for the four technologies conditionally promised last year to be transferred by U.S. defense giant Lockheed Martin, citing its national technology protection policy. The four are critical in crafting integrated systems for an active electronically scanned array radar, electro optical targeting pod, infrared search-and-track and radio frequency jammer.

Instead, the two countries’ defense ministers agreed last October to set up a working group to boost cooperation to facilitate the 18.1 trillion won ($15.55 billion) program, nicknamed KF-X or Boramae. South Korea hopes to unveil its first KF-16-class warplanes by 2025 and deploy 120 units by 2032.

“The U.S. continues to support the Republic of Korea’s defense programs and priorities through the transfer of many of our most sensitive defense technologies. We seek to support the KF-X indigenous fighter program to the maximum extent possible,” department spokesperson Katina Adams told Yonhap News.

“The U.S. government is in discussions with Lockheed Martin to address ROK areas of concern. We will continue to work closely with Lockheed Martin throughout this process to ensure continued support to the KF-X program.”  [Korea Herald]

You can read the rest at the link, but I am sure Lockheed Martin would love to sell South Korea some Joint Strike Fighters instead.

Latest South Korean MLRS can hit targets up to 80km away and destroy an area three times the size of a soccer field: https://t.co/wxDkb4nMUJ

— NK NEWS (@nknewsorg) November 20, 2015

This is going to be a really big defense upgrade for the ROK Army once these new Apache helicopters are fielded:

The latest-version AH-64 Apache attack helicopters destined for South Korea have been unveiled months before the start of deliveries, the country’s arms procurement agency said Tuesday.

Boeing held a rollout ceremony for the AH-64E Apache Guardian in Mesa, Arizona, on Monday (local time), attended by representatives from South Korea’s Army and the Defense Acquisition Procurement Administration (DAPA).

The choppers will be first delivered to the U.S. Army for test flights and transferred to South Korea beginning in the first half of next year, according to DAPA officials.

The DAPA signed a US$1.6 billion contract with the U.S. in a Foreign Military Sales program in 2013 to buy 36 AH-64Es, an upgraded model of the AH-64D Longbow. [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link.

Despite their best efforts it looks like the ROK will not be receiving the technology transfer they requested any time soon:

U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter refused Thursday to accept South Korea’s request for the transfer of key American technologies necessary for Seoul’s “KF-X” indigenous jet fighter development project, officials said.

Carter stated the position when South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo asked him to reconsider the decision to reject the technology transfer during a meeting at the Pentagon, the South’s Defense Ministry said in a statement. Han has been in Washington to accompany President Park Geun-hye on an official visit.

Carter said, however, that he would study ways of technological cooperation, the statement said. The two ministers also agreed to establish a consultative forum to discuss ways to increase cooperation in defense technology, including the KF-X project, it said.

The Korean Fighter Experimental (KF-X) project, under which South Korea is to produce 120 combat jets, hit a snag after the U.S. Department of State in April refused to grant permission for U.S.-based Lockheed Martin’s export of four out of the 25 fighter jet technologies it has promised Seoul. [Korea Times]

You can read the rest at the link.

Here is a well produced Youtube video that highlights South Korea’s military that has drawn nearly 700,000 views:

South Korea loses Division (-) size element of Soldiers every year to people giving up their citizenship to avoid mandatory ROK military service:

More than 16,000 South Korean men have relinquished their nationality to avoid the mandatory military service in recent years, an opposition lawmaker said Monday.

A total of 4,386 men opted for foreign citizenship in 2014, up from 3,470 men in 2011, said Rep. Jin Sung-joon of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy, citing data of the Military Manpower Administration submitted to the National Assembly for an annual audit.

In the first seven months of this year, 2,374 men gave up their nationality to avoid the military service, Jin said.

By nationality, most men became citizens of the United States, followed by Canada, Australia and New Zealand, Jin said.  [Korea Observer]

You can read the rest at the link, but it was an interesting statistic that 10% of Koreans in public service successfully avoided completing their military service obligation.

If any of you ROK Heads living in Korea feel the need to purchase your very own THAAD missile defense system to put in your backyard to protect you from Kim Jong-un’s missiles, it would set you back only $2.5 billion:

Deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system on the Korean Peninsula would cost around US$2.5 billion, the Air Force Chief of Staff said on Sept. 22.A propeller from the 1,800-ton top-of-the-line submarine Ahn Jung-geun was also reportedly replaced five years after its introduction because of 151 cracks found on it.Newly appointed Air Force Chief of Staff Jeong Kyeong-doo responded to questions on the cost of THAAD deployment from New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) lawmaker Kim Kwang-jin during a National Assembly National Defense Committee parliamentary audit on Sept. 22 at Air Force headquarters at Gyeryongdae, South Chungcheong Province.“It would be around plus or minus three trillion won (US$2.53 billion), although nothing precise has been given yet,” Jeong said.  [Hankyoreh]

You can read the rest at the link, but I think the ROK Air Force chief is just setting conditions on why the US military should provide the system for the ROK instead of purchasing it out right.

This decision makes me wonder if this technology transfer denial has anything to do with how the ROK military continues to have issues keeping classified information secret?:

South Korea’s plan to receive technology transfers from Lockheed Martin in exchange for purchasing F-35 stealth fighters has partly been scrapped due to rejection by the U.S. government.

New Politics Alliance for Democracy Rep. Ahn Gyu-baek said that the U.S. rejected the export of four technologies, including the Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar system, among 25 core technologies that were to have been transferred.

The military had planned to load the AESA radar, which is more capable of detecting targets than existing radars, on South Korean fighter jets.

Minister Chang Myoung-jin of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said at a parliamentary audit on Thursday that the agency is pursuing both domestic development and international cooperation to develop new technologies following the rejection from the United States.

DAPA is said to be seeking to independently develop the AESA radar and infrared search technologies and jointly develop comprehensive technologies for electromagnetic interference equipment with a European corporation.

A DAPA official said although Lockheed didn’t fulfill its contract terms, there is no way to impose sanctions as the U.S. government rejected the deal.   [KBS World Radio]

The new ROK Air Force Chief of Staff is pretty much continuing the ROK military’s stance which of being cautious about the deployment of the THAAD missile defense system to South Korea:

Newly appointed Air Force Chief of Staff Jeong Kyeong-doo took a cautious stance on the possible deployment of an advanced U.S. missile defense system in South Korea.

During the parliamentary defense committee’s audit of the Air Force Headquarters on Tuesday, Jeong said that there are pros and cons about deploying the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery.

He made the remarks when ruling Saenuri Party lawmaker Yoo Seung-min asked if he approves the US Forces Korea’s deployment of the THAAD battery.

The Air Force chief of staff said basic conditions should be satisfied to deploy the missile system. He said that the system will be effective only when South Korea and the United States establish an integrated intelligence system, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) assets to identify and intercept missiles from North Korea immediately.   [KBS World Radio]

You can read the rest at the link.

Here is the latest special warfare unit being established by the ROK military:

The South Korean Army’s Special Warfare Command plans to form a commando unit to destroy North Korean strategic weapons facilities.

The special operations command on Wednesday presented the plan in its report to the parliamentary defense committee.

A military official said that the command is looking to set up a special unit to infiltrate enemy territory and strike its key strategic facilities.

The official said that key strategic facilities refer to facilities for long-range missiles and nuclear weapons, mobile missile launchers and weapons of mass destruction.

The official said that the military made the decision to adapt to modern warfare as the North is bolstering asymmetric warfare capabilities.

The command said it also plans to form its own aviation forces for special operations to enhance infiltration capabilities.   [KBS World Radio]