Spy plane ‘Peace Eye’ to fly in exercises

A U.S.-made advanced surveillance aircraft will take part in live military drills next year for the first time since joining the Air Force here in September, an official said Tuesday.An Air Force official said the E-737 aircraft by Boeing will join the joint Max Thunder exercises between South Korea and the U.S. The biannual exercises are scheduled for May and October next year.The airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) was dubbed “Peace Eye” after a naming contest in 2008.“The participation

Dec. 27, 2011

Ship carrying missiles trying to avoid typhoon

A Britain-registered ship carrying missiles to South Korea has been detained in Finland after trying to avoid a typhoon, a South Korean official said Tuesday.According to the official with the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, the ship Thor Liberty, which was delivering 69 Patriot missiles from Germany to South Korea, was impounded in Kotka, southern Finland, on Dec. 15. The vessel had left a northern German port of Emden on Dec. 13.The official said it was en route to South Korea befo

Dec. 27, 2011

‘U.S. forces S. Korea to delay purchase of Global Hawk’

South Korea’s plan to purchase Global Hawk unmanned reconnaissance planes has been put off by one year as the U.S. government has not agreed to the sale yet, a government source said Monday. With the planned purchase of the Global Hawks hitting a snag, South Korea plans to invite two more models of U.S.-made spy drones ― the Global Observer made by AeroVironment and Boeing’s Phantom Eye ― to bid for the project, the source said. “We will map out a new acquisition plan next year to select one amo

Dec. 26, 2011

Seoul to buy French spy planes, use against N.K.

South Korea plans to buy two advanced reconnaissance planes from France by 2015, to allow the military to intercept radio messages from of North Korea, a government source said Monday. The South’s military will replace some of its aging spy planes with the militarized specialty version of “Falcon-2000” jet, produced by France’s Dassault Aviation, to keep closer watch on North Korea, the source said on the condition of anonymity. “The military decided to introduce two Falcon-2000 reconnaissance p

Dec. 26, 2011

S. Korea to buy 2 advanced spy planes from France

SEOUL, Dec. 26 (Yonhap) -- South Korea plans to buy two advanced reconnaissance planes from France by 2015, to allow the military to intercept radio messages from of North Korea, a government source said Monday. The South's military will replace some of its aging spy planes with the militarized spec

Dec. 26, 2011

Daewoo wins submarine contract for Indonesian navy

Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering signed a contract to build three submarines for the Indonesian navy on Tuesday.The contract calls for DSME to build three 1,400-ton submarines for the Indonesian navy for a total of $1.1 billion, making the contract the largest single defense contract to be awarded to a Korean firm.With the addition of the latest contract, the value of Korea’s defense exports so far this year has been pushed up to $2.4 billion, the Defense Acquisition Program Administra

Dec. 21, 2011

Seoul reconsiders lighting Christmas towers near border

Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin said Tuesday he will "reconsider" the plan to light Christmas tree towers near the border this week, as South Korea looks to take a low-key stance after the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.Asked about the scheduled lighting ceremony during a parliamentary sessi

Dec. 20, 2011

Seoul to develop stealth infiltration boats: source

South Korea is pushing to develop infiltration boats equipped with stealth functions as part of efforts to increase its maritime combat ability, a military source said Saturday.“(The military) is pushing to develop stealth function-equipped special infiltration boats and other supporting craft with the nation’s own technologies by spending about 900 billion won ($777.2 million),” the source said on condition of anonymity. Under the project, the military will build about 20-30 special infiltratio

Dec. 18, 2011

S. Korea to develop stealth infiltration boats: source

South Korea is pushing to developinfiltration boats equipped with stealth functions as part of efforts to increase its maritime combat ability, a military source said Saturday."(The military) is pushing to develop stealth function-equipped special infiltration boats and other supporting craft with t

Dec. 17, 2011

S. Korea, U.S. hold annual defense cooperation meeting

South Korea and the U.S. held annual talks on promoting defense industry cooperation, Seoul‘s state procurement agency said Tuesday.The 42nd annual meeting of the Defense Technology and Industrial Cooperation Committee (DTICC) took place in Washington on Monday local time, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said.Noh Dae-rae, head of the DAPA, and Frank Kendall III, the U.S. undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, co-chaired the meeting.The DTICC is

Dec. 13, 2011

Marines hold fire drills in West Sea

The Marines on Monday carried out live-fire drills with coastal guns on islands in the Yellow Sea, officials said.The Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Korea Hydrographic and Oceanographic Administration said the Marine units on the Yellow Sea islands of Baengnyeong and Yeonpyeong held shooting drills for about two hours starting at 10 a.m. Monday. The units used K-9 self-propelled howitzers, 20-millimeter Vulcans and 81-millimeter mortars.Officials said the JCS notified the KHOA of the exercise sch

Dec. 12, 2011

South Korea to send proposal to sell trainer jets to Israel

South Korea will send a proposal to Israel this month to sell its advanced trainer jets, a government source said Saturday.“We will send a proposal to Israel within this month as the country is seeking to introduce high-end trainer jets,” the source said on condition of anonymity.The official said the government will help Israel assess the performance of the T-50 Golden Eagle trainer jets early next year.Israel is reportedly seeking to replace up to 35 aging A-4 Skyhawk trainer jets between 2014

Dec. 11, 2011

Korea, Indonesia sign agreement on military supplies

Korea signed a memorandum of understanding with Indonesia to cooperate in the fields of military supplies and services on Wednesday.The agreement came three months after the two countries signed an MOU to establish a committee on bilateral cooperation in the military equipment industry on Sept. 9.The agreement was signed by Korea’s Army Major General Chun Dong-woon and Indonesian Army Logistics Assistant Major General Hari Krisnomo in Jakarta.Under the agreement, Korea and Indonesia will provide

Dec. 7, 2011

Air Force trainer jet crashes in drill

An Air Force trainer jet crashed on Monday during an exercise, killing both pilots aboard, officials said.The T-59 trainer jet for the Air Force’s 16th Fighter Wing crashed around 2:27 p.m. Monday near the unit at Yecheon, North Gyeongsang Province, about 250 kilometers southeast of Seoul, according to the officials.They said two Air Force majors, a 34-year-old named Park Jeong-soo and a 33-year-old Kwon Seong-ho, were both killed in the crash.Officials said the trainer jet crashed soon after ta

Dec. 5, 2011

Navy to focus on combat readiness

The Navy said on Monday that it will carry out 37 tasks next year as part of its efforts to strengthen its operational readiness. The plans were announced following the biannual commanders’ meeting held in Gyeryong, South Chungcheong Province.The tasks include establishing a combat-oriented human resource management system and reorganizing units according to combat functions that come under four themes.The four themes are: establishing flawless combat readiness, establishing strong naval capabil

Dec. 5, 2011

##Global Hawk

DAPA to have open bidding for surveillance dronesAcquisition agency tells Washington it cannot purchase Global Hawk drones for ‘exorbitant prices’By Song Sang-hoSouth Korea’s weapons acquisition agency said on Thursday that it would carry out an open bidding process for its high-profile project to acquire surveillance drones.Defense Acquisition Program Administration also said that it has told Washington that Seoul cannot purchase Global Hawk surveillance aircraft for the “exorbitant prices” it

Dec. 2, 2011