By Na Jeong-ju
The military will transfer seven key projects aimed at developing arms and defense systems, including a new attack helicopter, to the private sector next year to focus on developing core defense technologies, the state-run arms procurement agency said Friday.
The plan is part of efforts to improve the quality of weapons and boost the country’s arms exports to $4 billion by 2020, from $250 million in 2008, to make it one of the world’s top seven exporters of arms and defense systems.
“We decided to transfer seven weapons development projects led by the Agency for Defense Development (ADD) to private firms,” the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said in a press release.
Initially, the ADD, the state-run arms developer, planned to hand over half of its 22 projects to the private sector. After a review, it decided to privatize only seven of the projects, the agency said.
The new weapons to be developed by private firms include an attack helicopter, a reconnaissance vehicle for chemical, biological and radiological warfare and a next-generation artillery hunting radar.
The attack helicopter project calls for providing some 210 aircraft to replace aging AH-1S and 500MD helicopters for the Army.
Under the reconnaissance project, the government plans to provide about 300 such vehicles to the military by around 2015.
The artillery hunting radar project is aimed at replacing the existing AN/TPQ-36/37 radars that came under fire for not working properly when North Korea shelled the South Korean border island of Yeonpyeong last month.
The privatization is in line with a proposal by the Presidential Council for Future and Vision that the military accelerate technology transfer between state-run and private arms developers, and encourage mergers and acquisitions in the private sector to nurture the defense industry into a new economic growth engine.
The council recommended in October that the government double the number of workers in the defense industry to 50,000 by 2020 and develop markets in Asia and Africa based on growing economic ties with the regions.
According to the Ministry of National Defense, the country’s defense industry output totaled $6.5 billion as of 2008 and employed 24,000 workers.
The blueprint came after Korea’s bid to sell T-50 trainer jets to Singapore and the United Arab Emirates failed. Korea has also been actively seeking overseas sales of ammunition, self-propelled guns and tanks.
DAPA said the government will overhaul research and development in the defense industry to enhance quality and raise price competitiveness.
leeth@koreatimes.co.kr
The military will transfer seven key projects aimed at developing arms and defense systems, including a new attack helicopter, to the private sector next year to focus on developing core defense technologies, the state-run arms procurement agency said Friday.
The plan is part of efforts to improve the quality of weapons and boost the country’s arms exports to $4 billion by 2020, from $250 million in 2008, to make it one of the world’s top seven exporters of arms and defense systems.
“We decided to transfer seven weapons development projects led by the Agency for Defense Development (ADD) to private firms,” the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said in a press release.
Initially, the ADD, the state-run arms developer, planned to hand over half of its 22 projects to the private sector. After a review, it decided to privatize only seven of the projects, the agency said.
The new weapons to be developed by private firms include an attack helicopter, a reconnaissance vehicle for chemical, biological and radiological warfare and a next-generation artillery hunting radar.
The attack helicopter project calls for providing some 210 aircraft to replace aging AH-1S and 500MD helicopters for the Army.
Under the reconnaissance project, the government plans to provide about 300 such vehicles to the military by around 2015.
The artillery hunting radar project is aimed at replacing the existing AN/TPQ-36/37 radars that came under fire for not working properly when North Korea shelled the South Korean border island of Yeonpyeong last month.
The privatization is in line with a proposal by the Presidential Council for Future and Vision that the military accelerate technology transfer between state-run and private arms developers, and encourage mergers and acquisitions in the private sector to nurture the defense industry into a new economic growth engine.
The council recommended in October that the government double the number of workers in the defense industry to 50,000 by 2020 and develop markets in Asia and Africa based on growing economic ties with the regions.
According to the Ministry of National Defense, the country’s defense industry output totaled $6.5 billion as of 2008 and employed 24,000 workers.
The blueprint came after Korea’s bid to sell T-50 trainer jets to Singapore and the United Arab Emirates failed. Korea has also been actively seeking overseas sales of ammunition, self-propelled guns and tanks.
DAPA said the government will overhaul research and development in the defense industry to enhance quality and raise price competitiveness.
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