전투기 KF-16 개량건 외신 보도(Defensenews)

[ssn688]

처음 국내 보도에선 뭔가 아구가 맞지 않아서 이상했는데, 외신을 보니 (일단 외견상으로는)아구가 맞아들어 갑니다. 실제로 사업이 어떻게 진행될 것인지는 예산 타서 실시하기 전까진 모를 일이고...

강조는 본햏 소행입니다.

http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=4076484&c=ASI&s=AIR

S. Korea to Arm KF-16s with JDAMs

By JUNG SUNG-KI
Published: 6 May 2009 13:47

 

SEOUL - The South Korean Air Force will fly upgraded KF-16 fighters carrying precision-guided Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) by the end of the year, a military source here said May 5.

The armament upgrade is part of the 2010-2014 arms acquisition and management plan being submitted soon to President Lee Myung-bak for approval, the source noted.

The JDAM-equipped KF-16 fleet would be able to conduct surgical strikes against thousands of North Korean artillery pieces hidden in mountain caves and tunnels near the border with South Korea in case of an emergency, said the source privy to the Air Force's arms improvement plans.

The KF-16 is the local designation for the F-16 C/D model of the Lockheed Martin-built Fighting Falcon. South Korea now operates an older fleet of 34 Block 32 F-16s purchased in the 1980s, as well as a newer fleet of 135 F-16s manufactured locally to the Block 52 standard from the mid-1990s to mid-2000s under a $5.5 billion licensing agreement.

The upgrades will initially be applicable to a fleet of about 20 newer Block 52 models delivered from 2003 to 2004, he said.

"The Air Force has been working together with the U.S. Air Force for the past years on improving the KF-16's computer systems, databases and cabling so that the aircraft will be able to carry a batch of advanced guided weapons, including JDAMs, AIM-9X tactical air-to-air missiles and GBU-24 laser-guided bombs," he said.

To that end, the Air Force has been studying ways to downsize the 2,000-pound JDAM to 1,000 or 500 pounds so the KF-16s can operate the GPS-guided weapon more effectively, he said.

"The upgrade works have almost been completed, as the KF-16 will be operational with JDAMs by year's end after ground and air-to-ground testing between July and August," the source said.

Once deployed, the KF-16 fleet with JDAMs backed by long-range F-15K fighters will play a key role in neutralizing North Korea's long-range artillery systems deployed near the heavily fortified inter-Korean border, he said.

The JDAM GBU-31 is a guidance tail kit that converts existing unguided free-fall bombs into accurate, adverse weather munitions. It enables employment of accurate air-to-surface weapons against high priority fixed and re-locatable targets. Guidance is facilitated through a tail control system and a GPS-aided internal navigation system. Its per-unit price is about $43,000.

The bomb has a range of 24 kilometers and can strike within 13 meters of its target, according to Air Force officials here. It can penetrate up to 2.4 meters of concrete, they said.

Radar Upgrade

Another key upgrade for the KF-16 will be a replacement for its existing APG-68(v)5/(v)7 radar systems, the source said.

The Defense Acquisition Program Administration confirmed the move. The agency said in a news release May 4 that it has been conducting a preliminary research on the KF-16 radar replacement but has not made a decision.

The Air Force is considering the EL/M-2032, developed by Israel's Elta Systems, which will also equip the service's FA-50 trainer-turned-lightweight fighters to be developed by 2012.

The mechanically scanned array radar is credited with a look-up tracking range of up to 100 kilometers and is thought to have better simultaneous target tracking capability than that of the current KF-16 radars.

"The Air Force was initially considering more advanced U.S. active electronically scanned array [AESA] radars, such as Northrop's Scalable Agile Beam Radar and Raytheon's active next generation radar, but has modified the idea due to the U.S. law forbidding the export and technology transfer of state-of-the-art weapon systems," the source said.

The rationale behind the move is the service's long-term plan to develop an indigenous AESA radar based on modern radar technologies from Israel, which is more amenable to technology transfer than is the U.S., he explained.

South Korea was forced to drop its earlier plan to equip the FA-50, a light attack variant of the T-50 built by Korea Aerospace Industries and Lockheed Martin, with the Vixen-500e AESA radar developed by U.K. firm Selex Sensors and Airborne Systems because of U.S. opposition.

Lockheed Martin opposed it, saying aircraft source code cannot be transferred to other nations and T-50 variants cannot be integrated with non-U.S. technology.

Instead, the U.S. firm pushed South Korea to select its AN/APG-67(v)4 radar, but the U.S. government this time rejected the move, citing the T-50 family's development and marketing agreements.

One of those agreements states that T-50 series aircraft may not be fitted with radars more advanced than the ones carried in KF-16s.

Lockheed later agreed on the installation of the Israeli radar because the system is to be integrated by U.S. firm ITT Defense, sources said.

E-mail: jsungki@defensenews.com.

p.s. (만약 한다면)KF-16 개량 사업을 어디서 할지 궁금하군요. KF-16을 라이센스 생산했던 회사가 당연하지 않겠냐 할 수 있지만... 예전에 그 회사는 밀매들 불러다 공장 견학 시킨 뒤에 설법하기를, KF-16 개수(JDAM 쓰려면 KF-16 날개까지 뜯어서 배선 깔아야 하니 개수로서도 큰 작업이긴 합니다)는 국내에서 불가하며, 미국까지 보내서 하자면 작업량의 제한으로 인해 전 KF-16의 개수에 20년은 족히 걸릴 테니, KF-16 개량은 실질적으로 불가능하다는 떡밥을 던진 바 있습니다. 미션 컴퓨터 메모리 넉넉하고 날개에 배선 이미 깔린 A-50이 킹.왕.짱이었는데...

[김민석]

IAI가 MOU 를 KAI와 만들면서 Kf-16과 FA-50쪽에 많이 이야기를 하긴 했는데, SDL이나 스파이스 같은 구성품에는 한국이 크게 흥미를 못느꼈었죠. (공신력 낮음ㅠㅠ) 그리고 그 밀매들에게 설법한 회사도 울프팩 CCIP를 하던 동네..(먼산)

[김민석]

그런데 본문에 나온 슈퍼 사이드 와인더, JDAM, GBU-24는 공군 전산소와 공군이 독자적으로 충분히 달 수 있는 무장들이네요.. aim-9X 는 파일런만 손보면 되고, JDAM도 1553 데이터 버스로 운용 가능하고, gbu-24는 이미 운용 소프트웨어 만들었고.. 이런 건 굳이 국산 미션컴으로의 교체를 안해도 될(아니 어쩌면 미션컴 교체하면 더 달기 어려울) 무장이네요..

[ssn688]

여기서도 말미에 한-미간 교섭과정을 언급하는 부분을 보면 뭔가 좀 엇갈려서 아구가 안 맞는 느낌이 들긴 하네요. F/A-50의 Vixen 500E 장착과 관련하여 데이터의 제3국 이전이나 작업수행은 LM사에 앞서 미 정부가 반대할 사안 같고, KF-16보다 좋아선 안된다는 계약상의 이유로 APG-67 개량형도 반대하는 것은 LM의 사안 같은데... p.s. 만약에 F/A-50과 KF-16이 똑같이 EL/M-2032를 장착하면 계약상의 분쟁 피하는 데는 좋겠습니다. ㅋ 똑같은 레이다인데 F/A-50쪽이 안테나가 작아서 성능이 열세인 게 분명할 테니...

[iceman]

기사에 나온 뻘건색 무장중 하나는 이미 운용중, 하나는 예정, 하나는 OFP 개수만으로 가능한듯 합니다(순서는 상관없습니다.).OFP개수의 경우 모처에서 그라운드 테스트까지는 스케쥴상 끝났습니다.