The South Korea government has reached agreement with the US government over a US$7 billion deal to acquire 40 F-35A Lightning IIs for the Republic of Korea Air Force.
A Letter of Offer and Acceptance between the US and Korean governments is set to be signed covering 40 aircraft, with initial deliveries beginning in 2018, Lockheed Martin said in a September 24 statement.
“We’ve finalised the deal to purchase 40 F-35As following six months of negotiations on price and offset conditions, including tech transfer,” Defense News reported DAPA spokesman Baek Yoon-hyung as saying.
Initial deliveries are planned for 2018.
South Korea, which announced its selection in March, is the third Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program customer for the F-35 in addition to Israel and Japan.