On August 18th South Korea selected Boeing’s F-15SE Silent Eagle as the sole candidate for Phase III of its Fighter eXperimental Project (F-X) over Lockheed Martin’s F-35A and the Eurofighter Typhoon. The decision has drawn vociferous criticism from defense experts who fear the selection of F-15SE may not provide the South Korean military with the sufficient Required Operational Capabilities (ROCs) to counterbalance Japan and China’s acquisition of 5th generation stealth fighters.
As the article notes in defense of the criticism, South Korea's existing F-15s makes the new version easier to assimilate.
And the F-15 is far more affordable if South Korea doesn't aspire to evolve to a tiny but expensive air force.
Finally, in regard to potential foes, Japan? Seriously? That's insane to contemplate fighting F-35-equipped Japan. These countries have no business even thinking of fighting each other.
As for North Korea? Come on. Not all of their planes are even monoplanes. The Greater Seoul Radio-Controlled Plane Club would probably put up a decent fight against North Korea's flyable aircraft museum.
China, as I recently discovered, doesn't seem to have a true 5th generation fighter coming on line. Their J-20 has frontal stealth capabilities only, apparently--as well as Russia's T-50.
The F-15SE is a frontal aspect stealthed aircraft, too. So South Korea can match these guys and still count on Japanese and American fully stealthed planes for support.
I see little to argue with on South Korea's decision.
UPDATE: And at least the F-15 is maneuverable. The F-35 may not need to dog fight to kill enemy planes, but this new approach does make me uneasy. Although I am no aeronautical engineer, I admit.
