E-X Project to Start Afresh Review of Airborne Early Warning Project Announced Defense Mega-Projects in Snub to U.S. Arms Makers E-X Project Down to Two Bidders Again U.S. Envoy ‘Made Pitch for Boeing’s E-X Bid’ E-X Projects Hits Fresh Snag Over Banned Equipment Final Bidders for E-X Project Qualify U.S., Israeli Bidders Clear E-X Project Tests Boeing Again Sole Bidder for AWACS Project E-X Project Stuck Again Over Boeing Price Demand E-X Project Price Wrangling Brings Another Delay Final Nod to Boeing Completes E-X Project at Last

The Ministry of Defense said Tuesday the decision was made after taking suggestions from Korea Aerospace Industries and the assessment of a ministry committee into account. Eurocopter beat Bell of the U.S. and the Italian-British firm AWIL out of the running for the Korean Helicopter Program.

A draft of the helicopter concept

The decision is a fresh departure from practice that has seen the U.S. enjoy a de-facto monopoly in Korean defense procurement, with sources saying the ministry did not take political factors like Korea’s long-standing alliance with the U.S. into consideration. A committee member said only Eurocopter’s proposal met its standards.

Slated for completion by 2011, the much-revised KHP envisages the development of transport helicopters with technology support from a foreign manufacturer, with 245 choppers to be produced over 20 years. The deal with Eurocopter is for research and development only, with contracts for the W4.1 trillion production project to be struck separately once it is clear how much technology transfer has occurred by around 2011. Jung Won-mo, a research member for the KHP, said of the total $1.3 billion for R&D, 20 percent will go to Eurocopter, 60 percent to domestic manufacturers and 20 percent to other foreign partners.

Meanwhile, a final decision on a drawn-out plan to buy airborne early warning systems, the E-X Project, is likely to be delayed yet again until next year. Israeli firm IAI Elta’s G-550 aircraft was understood to be favored over U.S. aerospace giant Boeing’s E-737, but selection hit a snag when it emerged that some technology in the Israeli aircraft falls under a U.S. export ban. A military source said the bids were to be discussed in a procurement meeting on Monday, but the matter was not on the agenda. “In effect, it became impossible to finalize the selection by the end of the year,” he added.

(englishnews@chosun.com )