Korean Air said on the 20th that the Korean Air-L3Harris consortium was selected as the contractor for the "second airborne control aircraft project" at the 171st Defense Project Promotion Committee meeting. The airborne control aircraft is a key aviation asset equipped with a high-performance radar and regarded as a "flying radar and command post."
L3Harris, a U.S. aviation and defense corporations and the prime contractor for this second airborne control aircraft project, will work with Korean Air and Israel's IAI ELTA to supply four airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft desired by the Air Force by 2032.
As a domestic partner, Korean Air will purchase four Global 6500 aircraft from Bombardier and provide them to L3Harris, co-develop aircraft No. 1 and No. 2, and handle domestic modifications for No. 3 and No. 4. Including the electronic and electrical project, it is expected to purchase six aircraft.
The airborne control aircraft detects and analyzes key targets across the country and conducts real-time command and control of military operations from the air. The high-altitude, long-range business jet modified for the airborne control mission uses AI-based, state-of-the-art radar technology to support air battle management.
Korean Air is a domestic aviation defense corporations that has carried out military aircraft system development, mass production, maintenance, and performance upgrades for more than 50 years. In the field of rotary-wing aircraft maintenance and performance upgrades, it earned recognition for its technology from the U.S. military and maintained the HH-60 (U.S. Air Force Black Hawk) and CH-53 (U.S. Marine Corps heavy transport helicopter).
Including fixed-wing aircraft such as the F-4, F-15, F-16, A-10, and C-130, it has maintained and upgraded about 3,700 U.S. military aircraft across the Pacific and has delivered a cumulative total of more than 5,500 aircraft, including those of the Korean military.
A Korean Air official said, "Through this airborne control aircraft project, we will secure modification, integration, and maintenance technology for the latest special-mission aircraft, and as a leading corporations in the domestic aviation industry, we will do our best to build the industrial base for large special-mission aircraft to strengthen defense capabilities."