The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) announced on Dec. 9 that the Korean government obtained an export license from the U.S. government on Nov. 30 regarding the 21 techniques items, the transfer of which the Korean government made requests for with regard to the Korean Fighter Experimental (KF-X) Project.
Ministry of Defense spokesperson Kim Min-seok explained that the U.S. is scheduled to transfer the technology related to the 21 items to Korea and this has been confirmed by a series of documents signed by the U.S. and Seoul offices of Lockheed Martin, Lockheed Martin Global, DAPA, Republic of Korea Air Force and Korea Aerospace Industries. The DAPA explained that the U.S. government was excluded from the signers because the export license was given via signatures of the Department of Defense and Lockheed Martin.
“Both Seoul and Washington are well aware of the strategic significance of the KF-X Project,” the spokesperson said, adding, “The U.S. government has reconfirmed that it will back up the KFX Project to the maximum extent possible.”
Under the circumstances, additional negotiations are slated to follow with regard to hundreds of specific technologies pertaining to the 21 items during the preparatory and subsequent stages of the project, in which unexpected disputes still could arise concerning the transfer of the technologies.