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UK officers are lobbying for Rolls-Royce to switch US rival GE Aerospace as the principle engine associate on South Korea’s fighter jet programme, as Britain seeks nearer ties with the Asian nation’s booming arms sector to assist rebuild its personal defence industrial base.
South Korean defence group Hanwha Aerospace produces current-generation engines on the KF-21 fighter jet underneath licence from GE. However US export restrictions over nationwide safety issues have pissed off Seoul’s ambitions to promote the jet to potential consumers such because the United Arab Emirates and Indonesia.
As a substitute, South Korea has been seeking to develop its personal engines, with Hanwha and native rival Doosan Enerbility pitching for a task within the subsequent era of the KF-21, which is because of enter manufacturing within the mid-2030s.
However with some defence specialists expressing scepticism about their capabilities throughout the timeframe, UK officers have been urgent the case for co-production with a international associate as an middleman step, in line with a number of folks accustomed to the discussions.
“Rolls-Royce’s involvement would de-risk the mission and speed up the timeline,” mentioned a British official. “This isn’t about merely promoting engines to South Korea. It’s about growing a brand new engine collectively and seeing that relationship by means of to the top of the engine’s life.”
Rolls-Royce declined to remark, however one particular person accustomed to the state of affairs mentioned the corporate, which is hoping to work with India on its indigenous jet engine programme, had made no secret of its curiosity in alternatives to assist different international locations develop their very own fight capabilities.
UK officers acknowledged their marketing campaign on behalf of Rolls-Royce was a part of a wider effort to forge nearer defence procurement ties with South Korea, one of many world’s high 10 arms exporters.
However analysts mentioned the efforts could possibly be difficult by Seoul’s decades-long safety alliance with the US. Hanwha was pushing for shipbuilding contracts with the US Navy, in addition to engine upkeep and restore contracts for US fighter jets primarily based in Asia, mentioned an individual near the corporate.
Seoul sees defence procurement as a strategy to meet Washington’s calls for to cut back South Korea’s $55bn commerce surplus with the US. GE can also be fascinated by persevering with its involvement within the KF-21 programme, in line with an individual accustomed to the corporate’s pondering.
Rolls-Royce provides gasoline turbine engines for South Korean naval frigates, whereas the KF-21’s ejector seat is produced by Uxbridge-based Martin-Baker and its missile system was equipped by MBDA, a European consortium collectively owned by BAE Techniques, Airbus and Leonardo.
Hanwha has talked to British officers about partnering with BAE to construct munitions factories within the UK, in line with folks accustomed to the discussions, as European international locations search to spice up their weapons manufacturing capability following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and indicators of wavering US dedication to the continent’s defence.
The UK Strategic Defence Evaluation this month beneficial the creation of an “all the time on” munitions manufacturing capability that could possibly be “scaled up at pace if wanted”.
BAE this month introduced a partnership with Hanwha Techniques, the South Korean conglomerate’s radar and software program subsidiary, to co-develop a sophisticated satellite tv for pc system for intelligence gathering, surveillance and reconnaissance. Hanwha already provides BAE with “modular cost methods” for its Nato-standard 155mm artillery rounds.
A UK defence ministry spokesperson mentioned: “The Republic of Korea is a crucial industrial associate and we proceed to scope future collaboration alternatives collectively.”
GE declined to touch upon its future involvement within the programme, however a spokesperson mentioned: “GE Aerospace is proud to be a trusted associate in Korea for greater than 60 years. We stay dedicated to supporting Korea’s defence business and contributing to future programmes with confirmed experience and a powerful observe report.”
South Korea’s defence procurement company mentioned: “No resolution has been made but on whether or not we are going to co-develop the engines with international engine makers or with which international firm to associate with.”
BAE and Hanwha declined to remark.
Extra reporting by Tune Jung-a in Seoul and Charles Clover in London
