The US State Department has approved a possible FMS for equipment and services to extend the service life of the Hawker RC-800 Peace Krypton reconnaissance aircraft in service with the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF).
If the FMS is approved Lockheed Martin will be the prime contractor on the $250 million deal, which includes ground system modernisation work and upgrades to the Joint Mission Planning System (JMPS).
Lockheed Martin was the previous contractor for Peace Krypton support, but that contract expired in December 2019.
Four Peace Krypton aircraft are in service with the ROKAF but these refurbished twin-jet corporate aircraft are showing their age, as they were bought in 1996.
With this in mind, the South Korean Defense Acquisition Program Administration plans to spend KRW870 billion on buying two Baekdu-II Falcon 2000S SIGINT and reconnaissance aircraft for the ROKAF by 2026.
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