South Korea endorsed major defense projects Monday to purchase an additional batch of F-35A stealth fighters and shipborne Standard Missile-6 (SM-6) interceptors, the state arms procurement agency said, in a move to reinforce deterrence against North Korea’s evolving military threats.
The Defense Project Promotion Committee approved a 3.75 trillion-won (US$2.85 billion) plan to buy the U.S.-made radar-evading jets through 2028, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said.
It did not disclose the number of jets to be purchased, but Seoul is expected to bring in some 20 F-35As under the new plan. The country’s Air Force currently runs 40 F-35As manufactured by the U.S. defense giant Lockheed Martin.
The jets, if deployed, will prop up the country’s Kill Chain pre-emptive strike system, a pillar of its three-pronged deterrence program against the North’s nuclear and missile threats, according to DAPA.
The committee also approved a first-stage purchase plan for the SM-6 manufactured by the U.S. defense firm Raytheon Technologies Corp. It is part of the 770 billion-won two-stage project that will run from this year through 2031 with an aim to better counter threats from hostile aircraft and missiles.