SEUL Mar 13 South Korea's Defense Projects Promotion Committee approved the purchase of an additional batch of American F-35A stealth fighters and Standard Missile-6 (SM-6) ship-based interceptor missiles as part of the increased deterrence of North Korea, Yonhap reports, citing the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) of the country.
It is reported that 3.75 trillion won (2.85 billion dollars) will be allocated for the purchase of fighter jets. The number of purchased aircraft was not disclosed, but Seoul is expected to receive about 20 F-35A fighters manufactured by the American company Lockheed Martin by 2028. South Korea has previously purchased 40 F-35A fighter jets and is currently operating them. If deployed, the new fighter jets will help strengthen the deterrence of North Korea's nuclear and missile threats, according to DAPA.
An initial plan to purchase SM-6 interceptor missiles from US firm Raytheon Technologies worth 770 billion won by 2031 was also approved to better counter threats from enemy aircraft and missiles. The South Korean Navy intends to use the more advanced and long-range SM-6 missiles on the 8,200-ton Aegis-series KDX-III Batch II destroyers, which are planned to be deployed in the coming years. At the moment, the South Korean army is using SM-2 ship-to-air missiles on its destroyers.
In addition, plans were approved for the development in 2023-2032 of a mobile tactical surface-to-ground weapon and a research and development plan for a ship-to-air missile in the period from 2023 to 2030 for use on South Korean destroyers KDDX next generation, which are still under development.