F-35 스텔스 전투기, 2016年 대한민국 공군에 공급 가능

 

AW&ST 紙의 중국 北京 주재원이 8월 15일字로 보도한, 우리 대한민국 공군의 차기 전투기 도입사업 즉 3차 F-X 사업 관련

기사를 소개 합니다.

 

대한민국 공군의 미공개 보도자료를 인용한 기사에서, 2016년부터 도입 목표로 진행 중인 3차 F-X 사업에서 현재 개발 중인

美 Lockheed Martin 社의 5세대 스텔스 전투기 F-35A Lightning II 가 최종 도입 기종으로 선정 되어도, 2016년 부터 도입

일정에는 차질이 없을 것으로 우리 공군이 판단하고 있다는 내용 입니다.

 

그동안 국내외 언론을 통해 3차 F-X 사업의 후보기종으로 유럽 EADS 社의 Eurofighter Typhoon T3 와 美 Boeing 社의

F-15SE (Silent Eagle), Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II 그리고 러시아 Sukhoi 社의 PAK-FA 등 4개 기종이 거론되고

있는 가운데, 현재 우리 공군의 판단을 참고할 수 있는 기사로 이해 됩니다.

 

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South Korea Thinks F-35 Can Meet Schedule

AW&ST, Aug 15, 2011

By Bradley Perrett

 

 

BEIJING — The South Korean air force rates all of the Western competitors for its F-X Phase 3 fighter program, including the F-35 Lightning, as capable of meeting the in-service date of 2016, an assessment that appears to raise the chances of the Lockheed Martin aircraft.

 

The air force does not express the same view on the fourth and most recent competitor for the planned 60-aircraft order, the Sukhoi PAK FA.

 

The Eurofighter Typhoon is in service and can therefore meet the schedule, the air force says in an unpublished briefing paper. And although it notes that the F-35 and the Boeing F-15SE Silent Eagle are not fully developed, the air force says they can be ready in time.

 

That judgment is less important for the F-15SE than for the F-35. The Boeing fighter would be modified for the SE version mainly by introducing fly-by-wire flight controls, adapting its conformal fuel tanks to house weapon bays and by canting the tail fins with a straightforward structural change — objectives that should be achievable well before 2016.

 

But for the Lightning the air force’s assessment seems to sweep aside concerns that, while the stealth fighter is especially well suited to the air-to-ground part of the F-X Phase 3 requirement, its repeatedly delayed development schedule has become uncomfortably tight for South Korea’s needs.

 

The U.S. Air Force does not expect its F-35As to be operational until 2018. Its definition of initial operational capability is more demanding than South Korea’s, but the U.S. schedule offers little reassurance for potential buyers that would need the aircraft earlier.

 

Even if the South Korean air force’s assessment is not realistic, the ｅxpression of that view at least means that the service is willing to proceed as if the F-35 complies fully with its requirements. And if the air force is bending the rules for the F-35, then it seems to be showing a preference for it.

 

On the other hand, the F-X Phase 3 program could be delayed, giving more time for Lockheed Martin to meet the schedule. The company has said it could deliver aircraft to South Korea in 2016 — but that is not the same as establishing an operational capability.

 

In the briefing paper, the air force is silent on the question of whether the PAK FA would be ready in time. The failure to endorse the Russian fighter’s schedule can only raise concerns that the aircraft, a late entry into the race, is regarded as only a stalking horse for the Western fighters.

 

 

 

  ⓒ Lockheed Martin

 

  ⓒ Lockheed Martin

 

  ⓒ Lockheed Martin