Seoul: South Korea’s state arms procurement agency announced that it has selected U.S. defense contractor L3Harris Technologies Inc. to supply four new airborne control aircraft. This selection is part of the second phase of a project aimed at enhancing the country’s surveillance capabilities.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) approved the 3.87 trillion-won (US$2.82 billion) project during a meeting of its defense project committee. The plan is to acquire four Global 6500 aircraft by 2032, which will help expand South Korea’s fleet in response to increasing aerial threats from North Korea and neighboring countries. Currently, the South Korean Air Force operates four Boeing E-737 Peace Eye airborne control aircraft.

For this phase, L3Harris proposed integrating Bombardier Defense’s Global 6500 aircraft with advanced radar systems from Israel’s ELTA. DAPA revealed that L3Harris received a higher evaluation score compared to Swedish defense firm Saab, which was the only other contender in the bidding process.

DAPA stated that the project aims to ensure continuous aerial surveillance capabilities against enemy air threats during both wartime and peacetime. It is expected to enable independent and efficient air control operations by the South Korean military.