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S. Korea to Sell Trainer Aircraft, Tanks to Turkey
[June 25, 2007]

S. Korea to Sell Trainer Aircraft, Tanks to Turkey


(Korea Times Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) By Jung Sung-ki

Staff Reporter

South Korea will export more than 30 KT-1 basic trainer jets to Turkey, which has also decided to build the South Korean-made XK-2 main battle tank under a license agreement, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) announced Thursday.



``The Turkish Defense Ministry announced its plan June 20 to open contract negotiations with the Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) for the nation's trainer aircraft program,'' Lee Sun-hi, director of the DAPA, said.

Turkey also announced that OTOKAR, the main developer of the country's tank procurement program, will begin negotiations over the technology transfer of the XK2 with South Korea's state-funded Agency for Defense Development (ADD) and defense firm Rotem, Lee said.


DAPA spokesman Park Sung-soo said the contract regarding the sale of trainer aircraft plus spare parts, and the licensed production of the new main battle tank is expected to be valued at around $540 million, the second largest arms export, after Samsung Techwin's $1-billion license deal over the K-9 self-propelled howitzer with Turkey in 2001.

``The latest weapons contracts are landmark and I believe they are a result of South Korea's full-fledged efforts to increase its arms-producing capabilities,'' said the spokesman. He said a full-scale export of the XK2 technology is likely to take place in about one or two years.

The KT-1 named ``Woongbi'' is the Republic of Korean Air Force's indigenous aircraft jointly built by the KAI and ADD in a project that began in 1988. The plane was the first in its class to be designed entirely by a computer. It is equipped with all the systems needed to teach intricate acrobatic maneuvers, as well as a computer-controlled flight system.

The 10.3-meter aircraft has turbo-prop engines boasting a 950-horsepower that can generate a maximum speed of up to 574 kilometers per hour. It can fly at an altitude of 9,000 to 11,000 meters and cover a distance of 1,700 kilometers without refueling.

The Korean Air Force has deployed 85 KT-1s since 2000.

South Korea sold seven KT-1s to Indonesia, along with spare parts, in 2003 under a $60-million contract, which made the country one of the few aircraft exporters in the world. In 2006, Indonesia purchased 12 more KT-1s.

The XK2 unveiled in March is one of the world's top-class tanks, whose mobility, survivability, firepower and digital battlefield systems are believed to be superior than the U.S. M1A2 SEP and the French Leclerc.

The ADD, affiliated with the Ministry of National Defense, led the development of the indigenous high-tech vehicle in partnership with some 20 domestic defense companies led by Rotem, a unit of Hyndai Motor, over the past 12 years with a budget of $230 million.

The main armament of the tank dubbed ``Black Panther'' includes a 12.7mm K-6 heavy machine gun, a 7.62mm coaxial machine gun, and an indigenous 120mm/55-caliber smooth-bore gun with better muzzle velocity than the 120mm/44-caliber gun equipping a K1A1.

It has a 1,500-horsepower engine and can travel up to 70 kilometers per hour on surface roads and 50 kilometers per hour off-road with gun stabilization. The tank can cross rivers as deep as 4.1 meters using a snorkel, a considerable improvement over the K1 and K1A1, and fire as soon as it resurfaces.

Copyright 2007 The Korea Times Company Ltd, Source: The Financial Times Limited

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