Lockheed Martin said Tuesday it promised to help South Korea build and launch its indigenous military communications satellite as part of its offer to win Seoul’s 8.3 trillion won ($7.36 billion) fighter acquisition project.

The Defense Acquisition Program Administration begins the bidding process Tuesday for the project to purchase a high-end fleet of 60 fighters and start deploying them in 2017. The winner is scheduled to be announced by the end of this month.

“(Should it win the contract, Lockheed Martin) will support the production and launch of a military communications satellite that South Korea will wholly own and independently operate,” the U.S. defense company said in a press release that laid out its vision of a “strategic partnership” with Seoul.

“This strategic partnership will directly benefit Korean national defense requirements, enable substantial industrial activity and transfer high technology to Korea,” said David Scott, the director of F-35 International Customer Engagement of Lockheed Martin Aeronautics.

For Seoul’s next-generation fighter project, Lockheed Martin and the other two companies ― Boeing of the U.S. and the multinational European Aerospace Defense and Space Company ― are offering F-35’s air force variant, the F-15 Silent Eagle and the Eurofighter Tranche 3 Typhoon, respectively.

Boeing and EADS have also offered incentives to win Seoul’s largest-ever defense project.

EADS has pledged to invest $2 billion in Korea’s project to develop indigenous fighters and produce 53 of the total 60 fighters in Korea to help boost the local industry. Boeing also made attractive offers such as purchasing parts from Korean subcontractors.

Seoul plans to develop five military communications satellites by 2021 to reduce its excessive intelligence dependence on the U.S. as it is preparing to retake wartime operational control in December 2015. Such satellites are a key part of Seoul’s project to establish a low-tier missile defense shield.

By Song Sang-ho (sshluck@heraldcorp.com)