The government is launching a pan-ministerial council for the development of advanced aircraft engines. The goal is to independently develop high-difficulty technologies that determine the performance of next-generation fighter jets, reduce maintenance expense previously paid to overseas corporations, and enable exports.
The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOTI) said on Feb. 28 that, together with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, the Korea AeroSpace Administration, and the Ministry of National Defense, it held a launch ceremony for a "pan-ministerial council" to develop advanced aircraft engines at the Government Sejong Convention Center.
Aircraft engine technology is a representative strategic technology held by only a very few countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Russia. It is a high-difficulty technology that is strictly regulated under international control regimes and requires large-scale, long-term investment. If Korea succeeds in developing advanced aircraft engines domestically, it is expected that maintenance expense that had been flowing overseas can be utilized domestically. It is also expected that, when applied to fighter jets, exports will be possible.
Through the pan-ministerial council, each ministry decided to review plans to develop advanced aircraft engines for application to next-generation fighter-jet class platforms. They also agreed to prevent duplicate investment in budgets by ministry and to regularly discuss key issues at each stage of technology development.
Lee Sun-hye, director of the Advanced Civil-Military Innovation Support Division at the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOTI), said, "Based on the MOTI's experience in developing core materials and parts technologies, we will contribute to the technological self-reliance of advanced aircraft engines and the securing of a stable supply chain, and we will also take the lead in building a manufacturing ecosystem for aircraft engines."