Lockheed Martin has been working in partnership with Korea to address national priorities that include ensuring a strong Korean national defense, modernizing air traffic control systems and exploring new opportunities in space and telecommunications.

Lockheed Martin has been Korea’s partner since 1991 in successful co-production of the F-16 Fighting Falcon for the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF). As the first country to license-produce the F-16, Korea has chosen Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) as the prime contractor to produce the forward fuselage and to supply most materials, subsystems and technical assistance. Other members of the team include Korean Air, which builds the aft fuselage and wings. In 1994, the ROKAF became the first U.S. ally to fly the Block 52 version of the F-16.

In August 2004, Korea completed KFP-2, its second round of F-16 fighter production. This has been a model program, demonstrating that Korean industry can produce aircraft ahead of schedule, at less than U.S. manufacturing costs and with the same level of quality.

Korea’s F-16s and F-15s are equipped with the Lockheed Martin LANTIRN night navigation and attack system, which enables aircrews to identify and attack targets with unprecedented precision at long standoff distances. In early 2000, ROKAF accepted its first F-16 upgraded for the AN/ALQ-165 Airborne Self-Protection Jammer (ASPJ).

The T-50 Golden Eagle, the world’s only supersonic trainer and light attack aircraft, is a product of cooperation among Lockheed Martin, KAI and Korea’s Agency for Defense Development. T-50 made its first flight on August 20, 2002. The ROKAF plans to order 94 Golden Eagle trainers. Lockheed Martin and KAI are jointly marketing T-50 in the international market.

T-50 provides its users a total training system, complete with fully integrated classroom instructions and flight training. The aircraft’s features include superior maneuverability, endurance and avionics systems to prepare pilots to fly next-generation aircraft. The attack version, A-50, can carry out combat roles with minimal configuration changes.

The Korean Navy flies eight Lockheed Martin P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft to monitor its coastlines. The P-3 Orion aircraft provides the capability to carry out anti-submarine warfare.

In 2002, the Korean Navy selected the Aegis combat system for its next generation KDX-3 destroyers. This major program involves Samsung-Thales for system integration and manufacture of Q-70 Multifunction Consoles; Hyundai Heavy Industries for shipbuilding; and numerous smaller Korean industries for a variety of other important technologies.

Lockheed Martin has completed delivery of the MLRS and ATACMS to the Korean Army in January 2000 and in October 2004, respectively. Through these deliveries, the Army has secured a capability to effectively carry out counter-fire mission. Hanhwa Corp. has also produced the Extended Range Rocket under a license agreement with Lockheed Martin.

For more than a decade, Korea’s primary early warning air defense sensors have been its eight Lockheed Martin FPS-117 radars. These solid-state, active phased-array systems are similar to those operated by the U.S. Air Force across Alaska and northern Canada. In 2000, the ROKAF contracted for four additional FPS-117 radars to greatly extend surveillance coverage. FPS-117 incorporates the Secondary Surveillance Radar, which simultaneously supports the Republic of Korea and the U.S. military’s Interrogate Friend or Foe (IFF) system,  as well as Korea’s civil air en-route air traffic control tracking missions. In 2001, the ROKAF ordered three TPS-117 radars, the transportable version of FPS-117.

In modernizing Korea’s air traffic management systems, Lockheed Martin and Samsung Data Systems established a partnership in 1998 for the Korean Area Control Center (KACC) system for the new Inchon International Airport, which opened in March 2001. The KACC controls the upper airspace of Korea’s air traffic.

As prime contractor, Samsung Data Systems installed the KACC and continues to have the responsibility for the overall project. Lockheed Martin Air Traffic Management provided the essential elements of its state-of-the-art air traffic control system for the project. In 1999, the partnership demonstrated the system’s open architecture, which led to its customization to meet Korea’s unique air traffic management requirements. Acceptance testing was completed in 2000. As part of this vital partnership, Samsung Data Systems engineers worked in the United States with their Lockheed Martin counterparts.

Lockheed Martin has also helped Korea in its goal to exploit the opportunities of the space age through a long-term partnership with Korea Telecom. Lockheed Martin-built communications satellites include Koreasat-1, launched in 1995; Koreasat-2, launched in 1996; and Koreasat-3, launched in September 1999.

Koreasat-3, based on the advanced A-2100 bus, provides direct-to-home television broadcasting service, voice, and fax; multi-purpose data transfer services; and broadband Internet and multimedia services. Lockheed Martin manufactured Koreasat-3 with the participation of a Korean industry team including Daewoo Heavy Industries Ltd., Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute, Halla Engineering and Heavy Industries Ltd., Hyundai Electronics Industries Co. Ltd., Korea Aerospace Research Institute, and Korean Air.