Aircraft

Israel Aerospace Industries subsidiary Elta Systems is to develop and supply a new version of its EL/M-2032 fire control radar for prototype examples of the Korea Aerospace Industries F/A-50 light attack aircraft.

The system was selected by South Korea following a lengthy competition, and the move follows KAI's earlier decision to acquire electronic warfare equipment for the developmental aircraft from Israeli supplier Elisra.

Elta says the EL/M-2032 has air-to-air, air-to-ground, and air-to-sea detection capabilities, and can perform tasks including long-range target detection and high-resolution mapping. A new version of the design will be co-produced with South Korean company LIG Nex1 under the terms of the new deal.

KAI early this year received a 400 billion won ($335 million) contract to prepare four prototypes of the F/A-50, with these to be evaluated by the South Korean air force from 2012. The company hopes to eventually produce up to 150 production examples for the service.

Separately, Seoul has selected IAI to provide its Green Pine Block-B phased array warning radar and fire control system to warn of North Korean ballistic missile activity. The land-based radar can detect and simultaneously track dozens of targets at a range of more than 900km (486nm). South Korea will deploy the equipment in 2012.