SINGAPORE — South Korea has chosen a team led by L3Harris for a follow-on contract for four Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) aircraft, its procurement agency announced.
L3Harris proposed its Phoenix aircraft, which is a Bombardier Defense Global 6500 business jet modified with an advanced radar system, for the US ally, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said Tuesday.
South Korea had earmarked 3.1 trillion-won ($2.21 billion) for the project, which saw the Phoenix up against Saab’s Globaleye airborne early warning system with its own radar fitted on the same Global 6500 airframe, according to South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency.
L3Harris announced in a post on X Tuesday that it had been selected for the award.
Explaining its decision, DAPA said the L3Harris proposal, which will be fitted with Israel’s Elta EL/W-2085 radar, earned a higher evaluation score than Swedish defense firm Saab, its only other contender in the bidding.
Citing DAPA, Yonhap reported that there was no significant difference in the evaluation of the performance of both entrants, but “L3Harris received high scores in the areas of operational suitability, domestic defense industry contribution, and operation and maintenance costs, while Saab received high scores in the areas of contract terms and acquisition costs.”
The Republic of Korea Air Force is already an operator of the Boeing E-7A “Peace Eye” AEW&C aircraft, and the US State Department approved the potential sale of four more E-7As to South Korea in November 2024.
The current program is seeking additional aircraft as South Korea seeks to ramp up its own air defense and intelligence gathering capabilities against North Korea. The South is also seeking to bolster these capabilities as part of efforts to gain operational control of its military during a potential conflict.
Under current arrangements, operational control of the South Korean military will be placed under the South Korean-US Joint Forces Command during wartime, although peacetime operational command has come under the South Korean government since 1994.