South Korea to Acquire Israeli Early Warning Radar Systems and Boeing Maritime Patrol Aircraft
The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) announced the decision to purchase the two additional Green Pine Block C early warning ballistic missile radar systems at the 116th meeting of the Defense Project Promotion Committee presided over by Minister of National Defense Jeong Kyeong-doo on Nov. 27 at the Ministry of National Defense complex. Produced by Israel’s ELTA, the radar systems have a 300km greater detection range than the Green Pine Block B currently possessed by the South Korean military.
“The radar model was selected through competitive bidding with the Dutch company Thales,” a DAPA official explained, adding that there were “plans to sign a contract within the year.” A budget of 330 billion won (US$292 million) is to be spent on the acquisition.
A final decision was also made at the meeting on the purchase of six Poseidon (P-8A) maritime patrol aircraft produced by US company Boeing for submarine tracking.
“They were judged to be suitable for combat in testing, and negotiations have been completed with the US government on the price and technical conditions,” A DAPA official said.
“We plan to sign a purchasing contract within the year,” the official added.
DAPA reportedly plans to acquire the Poseidon aircraft at a cost of around 210 billion won (US$186 million) each under a foreign military sales format, for which the US government provides quality assurance for a period of time when selling weapons to an ally.
Equipped with AN/APY-10 radar, the Poseidon aircraft can travel at maximum speeds of 907km/h with a cruising range of 7,500km and operational radius of around 2,200km, and can be armed with Harpoon missiles and torpedoes.
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