Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. Space Industry and Business News .




AEROSPACE
BAE Systems wins South Korean F-16 upgrade
by Staff Writers
Seoul (UPI) Aug 2, 2012


disclaimer: image is for illustration purposes only

BAE Systems pipped Lockheed Martin to a $1.1 billion contract for upgrading South Korea's aging F-16 jet fighters -- a Lockheed Martin aircraft.

South Korea's Defense Acquisition and Procurement Agency announced the deal, saying the U.S. division of BAE will do the work up to 2021, a report by South Korea's Yonhap news agency stated.

The multiyear project calls for upgrading 134 of the air force's KF-16 fighters by improving mission computers and operating systems with the latest versions and the installation of active electronically scanned array radar, known as AESA.

AESA radars allow pilots to acquire targets at much greater distances and track many more targets simultaneously than traditional mechanically scanned array systems.

BAE Systems won the $1.1 billion deal under a foreign military sales program with lower bid prices, the DAPA said.

DAPA will send a letter of request to the U.S. government and sign the contract later this year, Yonhap reported.

South Korea has had an ongoing avionics improvement program for the KF-16 aircraft for which BAE Systems has been working in partnership with other suppliers.

In February Data Link Solutions, a joint venture between Rockwell Collins and BAE Systems, won a $5.5 million contract to provide multifunctional information distribution systems for KF-16 jets.

Data Link's MIDS-low volume terminal is an advanced Link-16 command, control, communications and intelligence system. It uses high-capacity, jam-resistant digital communication links for exchange of near real-time tactical data and voice information.

"This contract enables a critical military requirement for the (South Korean) air force F-16s to meet their data link network requirements," DLS Director Mike Beltrani said.

The terminals support key theater functions such as surveillance, identification, air control, weapons engagement coordination and direction for all the services and allied forces, DLS said.

The KF-16 is a version of the multirole F-16 Fighting Falcon and built locally by Korean Aerospace Industries under license from Lockheed Martin in the 1990s.

However, the original F-16 design, development and manufacture was by General Dynamics for the U.S. Air Force. The first flight of the F-16 was 1974 with introduction in 1978.

General Dynamics sold its aircraft manufacturing business in 1993 to Lockheed Corp. which became part of Lockheed Martin after a 1995 merger with Martin Marietta.

The U.S. Air Force still operates the F-16 but the aircraft now is made for export only.

Lockheed Martin announced at the Singapore Airshow in February that it will make a new variant of the F-16 which will include AESA radar, improved mission computers and other cockpit refinements, a report by FlightGlobal news Web site said.

The F-16V -- Viper -- will be available as an upgrade for most F-16 aircraft as well as new production jets, George Standridge, vice president of business development at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, said.

Around 4,500 F-16s have been delivered 26 countries, Lockheed Martin said.

.


Related Links
Aerospace News at SpaceMart.com






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








AEROSPACE
JAL net profit more than doubles to $343 mn
Tokyo (AFP) Aug 2, 2012
Japan Airlines, which just two-and-a-half years ago went bankrupt in one of the country's worst corporate failures, said Thursday first quarter net profit more than doubled to 26.9 billion yen ($342.75 million). The airline credited cost cutting and improved productivity for the result, which is up from a 12.7 billion yen net profit a year ago, and said sales rose 12.5 percent to 286.7 billi ... read more


AEROSPACE
From Microns to Centimeters

Raytheon awarded contract to advance Dual Band Radar development

Apple extends gains in surging tablet market: survey

Apple asks for verdict after Samsung 'misconduct'

AEROSPACE
Northrop Grumman Demonstrates Integrated Receiver Circuit Under DARPA Program

Boeing Receives 10th WGS Satellite Order from USAF

Lockheed Martin-built Military Communications Satellite Marks 20 Years in Service

NATO SOF picks U.S. communications system

AEROSPACE
Ariane rocket with two telecom satellites lifts off

Ariane 5 moves to the launch zone for Arianespace's next heavy-lift flight

The go-ahead is given for Arianespace's August 2 flight with Ariane 5

Initial assembly is completed for Arianespace's fifth Ariane 5 to be launched in 2012

AEROSPACE
Mission accomplished, GIOVE-B heads into deserved retirement

Boeing Ships 3rd GPS IIF Satellite to Cape Canaveral for Launch

GPS Can Now Measure Ice Melt, Change In Greenland Over Months Rather Than Years

SSTL announces the launch of exactView-1

AEROSPACE
US, allies renew opposition to EU airline tax

JAL net profit more than doubles to $343 mn

BAE Systems wins South Korean F-16 upgrade

Raytheon achieves delivery and operational milestones on FA-18 avionics systems

AEROSPACE
How to avoid traps in plastic electronics

HP claims win in legal battle with Oracle

Japan's Toshiba falls into quarterly net loss

World's smallest semiconductor laser created by University of Texas scientists

AEROSPACE
France orders Google to hand over Street View data

Space Technologies Tackle Human and Environmental Security Problems

Chinese mapping satellite handed over to surveying authority

European data center for GMES Sentinel satellites at DLR

AEROSPACE
1 in 5 streams damaged by mine pollution in southern West Virginia

Suez Environment posts sharply lower Q2 profit

Japan firm says China waste claims 'groundless'

Italy steel plant pollution case sparks anger and strikes




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement