Korean Air will cooperate with U.S. defense corporations Lockheed Martin on "follow-on logistics support for military aircraft," including maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO), to strengthen the U.S. Army, Navy, and Air Force.
The two companies signed a Partnership Framework at the Seoul International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition (ADEX) 2025 on the 22nd to support maintenance of U.S. military power assets in the Indo-Pacific region and third countries and to contribute to timely force deployment.
Attending the signing ceremony were Cho Hyun-cheol, head of Korean Air's military aircraft business division, and Steve Sheehy, vice president for operations and sustainment business development at Lockheed Martin.
Through this project, Korean Air plans to enhance the operational capabilities of U.S. forces in the Indo-Pacific and contribute to timely force deployment. It also plans to expand the business to third countries operating Lockheed Martin aircraft and actively pursue opportunities to enter the global defense market and increase exports.
This cooperation proceeded in line with the policy direction of the Regional Sustainment Framework (RSF) that the U.S. Department of War recently released. RSF is a policy to build maintenance hubs that will streamline overseas maintenance, which the United States has directly handled, by leveraging the capabilities of allies in the Indo-Pacific.
The aim is to cut the vast time and expense of transporting assets to the U.S. mainland for repair and keep readiness at the highest level.
Korean Air is considered the optimal partner for the U.S. RSF policy. It has a geographic advantage that enables the most efficient maintenance of U.S. equipment in the Indo-Pacific, along with superior technology and extensive experience.
Korean Air is a top-tier domestic aerospace defense corporations that has conducted system development, mass production, maintenance, and performance upgrades for military aircraft for over 50 years. It is also the only domestic company that has carried out maintenance, repair, overhaul, and upgrade (MROU) programs for about 3,700 U.S. military aircraft across the Indo-Pacific, including fighters such as the F-15 and F-16 and multipurpose helicopters.
A Korean Air official said, "Maintenance and modification of U.S. military aircraft is a very important project carried out only by core companies of allied nations," adding, "With this cooperation, Korean Air has been recognized for world-class technology as a key partner performing follow-on logistics support for U.S. military aircraft."