Jakarta set to share 20% of system development cost

Korea Aerospace Industries, Ltd. (KAI) has signed a final joint development agreement for the KF-X program with Indonesian Defense Ministry. The signing was made between KAI President and CEO Ha Sung-yong, and Timbul Siahaan, director of the Preparatory Power Bureau of the Indonesian Defense Ministry, on January 7, 2016.
Also on hand at the signing event held at the Indonesian Defense Ministry’s conference room were Korean Ambassador to Indonesia Cho Tai-young and Chang Myung-jin, minister of Defense Acquisition Program Administration, Ryamizard Ryacudu, Defense Minister of Indonesia and Budi Santoso, president of PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI).
Under the joint development deal, the Indonesian Defense Ministry shall share 20% of the development cost of the KF-X project. The deal signifies KAI’s completion of preparations for undertaking the joint system development of KF-X project, including investment and division of work with its Indonesian counterpart.

Indonesia’s Ministry of National Defense will burden approximately 1% of the total project cost by April 2016 and over 2% starting with 2017.
During the system development period, PTDI will dispatch up to 100 skilled personnel to KIA annually to participate in the structure design, interpretation and the system sector of the aircraft.
Indonesia will invest 20%, or about approximately 1.6 trillion Korean won of the KF-X system development cost, while getting involved in the system development. In return, Jakarta will be transferred one unit of service test and various technical sheets from Seoul.
KAI President and CEO Ha said: “KAI will make every effort to make sure that the KF-X will wind up successfully, while strengthening bilateral relations between Korea and Indonesia in the military, economic and industrial fields.”
Late in 2015, Korea Aerospace Industries, Ltd. finished all the preparations for development of the KF-X project, including establishment of the Aviation Development Center and restructuring the company’s organization. KAI plans to develop the optimal training system including aircraft and the general military logistics support system to meet the requirements of the military.
During January, KAI is set to hold a development launching meeting with officials from both the Korean military and government, and its partner firms and relevant officials from Indonesia attending.
Earlier, KAI, Korea’s sole aircraft manufacturer, clenched an 8-trillion won deal with the Defense Acquisition Program Administration for the KF-X System Development Project. The KF-X project aims to replace Korean Air Force’s aged fighter jets, such as the F-4 and F-5, and to develop a Korean-style jet complete with a performance suitable for the future battlefield environment after 2020.
The development targets include 6 prototype fighter jets, 2 prototype structures and the training/logistics support systems. Aiming to achieve a 65% localization ratio of the new fighter jet, KAI will take advantage of Korea’s industry- academic research pool. A number of local partner firms, universities and research institutes are expected to take part in the KF-X development project. As such, the project will likely contribute to advancement of the Korean aviation industry and harmonious growth between large and small enterprises.

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