US State Department approves potential E-7A aircraft to South Korea
November 10, 2024
The US State Department has approved a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Republic of Korea Air Force (RoKAF) of four E-7A Peace Eye Airborne Early Warning & Control (AEW&C) aircraft, plus associated equipment and services at an estimated cost of US $4.92 billion. This does not indicate that the E-7A has been selected or ordered by South Korea, where a competition is underway for a new AEW aircraft.
South Korea previously acquired four E-7As under a US $1.6 billion Direct Commercial Sale contract with Boeing in Dec 2006 (worth about $2.5 Bn in current year dollars), and it was dissatisfaction with these aircraft which led to the current competition.
In particular, the RoKAF found that four E-7As was insufficient to maintain an orbit, 24/7, which had been a requirement.
Saab are also competing for the RoKAF requirement, offering a dedicated AEW&C version of the GlobalEye with fore and aft X-band radars augmenting the main radar array to give a 360° field of regard. This is known as the WatchEye configuration.
The other contender is an L3 Harris offering, combining the mission system of the CAEW (Conformal Airborne Early Warning) aircraft with the airframe of the Bombardier Global 6500.
