Is Korea edging away from preference for US weapons?

The Korean Air Force has selected the Airbus A330 multi-role tanker transport (MRTT) as its future aerial refueling aircraft over Boeing’s KC-46A tanker. / Courtesy of Airbus Defense and Space

By Kang Seung-woo

The Korean government has historically shown a strong bias toward American military equipment on the back of the 62-year-old bilateral alliance.

However, Seoul's selection of Europe-based Airbus Defense and Space over U.S. aerospace giant Boeing last week as the supplier of four aerial refueling tankers has raised speculation that this preference may wane. The deal is worth 1.4 trillion won ($1.24 billion).

The idea of Korea's supplier diversification in its arms procurement draws mixed responses.

“So far, Korea has mainly depended on the U.S. military equipment, but the selection of Airbus A330 multi-role tanker transport (MRTT) may influence the future purchase of weapons,” said a defense industry official, who declined to be identified.

“Until the last minute ahead of the announcement, Boeing’s KC-46 was seen as a favorite thanks to the nation’s history that had preferred the American equipment, and the Korea-U.S. ties actually affected many procurement programs.”

According to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), Korea selected the Airbus model for its performance in terms of how long it can stay aloft, how much oil it could refuel as well as the amount of personnel and cargo it can carry.

In addition, the product was especially favorable in the price factor, it said, adding that a descent in euro cut down the purchase price. However, how much could be saved from the exchange rate was not disclosed.

“Korea will always be a key ally of the U.S., but in certain systems, such as helicopters, they have shown a willingness to work closely with European companies, as shown by the Airbus Helicopters/KAI Surion program, as well as the new LCH/LAH program,” said Greg Waldron, the Asia managing editor of Flightglobal. LCH and LAH respectively stand for light civil helicopter and light armed helicopter, respectively.

“In addition, Korea is very ambitious about building its own capabilities at home. That said, the tanker deal will further underline Seoul’s willingness to look overseas, and is notable because this is a major fixed wing program: Korea has traditionally bought major fixed wing platforms from the U.S.,” he added.

They said that the Airbus deal should keep the U.S. contractors on their toes with regard to Korea’s coming arms deals.

“I do not believe that Korea’s preference for U.S. systems will weaken immediately, but the Airbus choice will alert U.S. contractors like Lockheed Martin and Boeing to the possibility _ albeit a small one _ of Korea choosing non-American products over theirs,” the industry official said.

Waldron also said, “As shown by the array of companies from various countries at the Seoul ADEX show, many countries are interested in working closely with Korea in the defense arena. This will inevitably put competitive pressure on the U.S. Still, the U.S. is the world’s leading developer of weapons, so for major, high-profile systems, such as fighters, Korea will always have a close working relationship with the U.S.”

Opponents also admit that Korea has begun turning its eyes to non-U.S. equipment, but do not believe it is equivalent to supplier diversification.

“Korea tends to buy more non-U.S. equipment than it did 30 years ago,” said Brad Perrett, the Asia-Pacific bureau chief of the Aviation Week and Space Technology.

“The choice of the A330 MRTT does not indicate a weakening preference for U.S. systems. The Airbus tanker clearly offers good value for money, since seven other countries and one multinational organization have chosen it. The KC-46 has great difficulty in competing with the A330 MRTT.”

Cho Jin-soo, a professor of School of Mechanical Engineering at Hanyang University, said that Korea made the “easy” decision because the program was not a fighter jet one.

“It is not easy for the Air Force to use European fighters because of interworking issues with its other weapon systems,” he said.

"On the contrary, the tanker is a standalone plane that does not have to worry about such issues.”

Perrett echoed Cho, saying, “The preference for U.S. systems is seen especially at the higher technology levels, where the U.S. tends to be especially competitive, and in the biggest deals, where Washington has the strongest expectation that Seoul will buy U.S. systems.”

He added, “Fighters are a good example.”

In the first two fighter programs, called the F-X I and II, Boeing sold 60 F-15K Slam Eagles and last year, Korea officially selected Lockheed Martin's 40 F-35 stealth jets to replace its aging fleet of F-4s and F-5s in the third phase of the fighter program.

In addition, the ROK-U.S. alliance is still expected to factor into arms deals between the two sides.

“While Korea and the U.S. believe that U.S. forces should stay on the Korean Peninsula, the expectation that Korea will prefer U.S. military systems will persist,” Perrett said.