Boeing has delivered three F-15K Slam Eagles to the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) at Daegu Air Base. 

The company delivered the first three of 21 F-15Ks it is producing under the Next Fighter II contract to the ROKAF in September.
The remaining 15 aircraft will be delivered through March 2012.
"Boeing is honored to deliver these highly advanced fighters to the ROKAF," said Roger Besancenez, Boeing F-15 Program vice president.




"We will continue to work closely with our ROKAF customers to prepare for upcoming deliveries that will provide them with superior air combat capability, as we remain committed to our goal of completing the deliveries on budget and on schedule, as promised."

Six of the new F-15K Slam Eagles are scheduled to participate in an advanced aerial combat training exercise at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., in late 2011.




The F-15K is an advanced variant of the combat-proven F-15E. Equipped with the latest technological upgrades, it is extremely capable, survivable and maintainable.
The aircraft's service life is planned through 2040, with technology insertions and upgrades throughout its life cycle. Boeing completed delivery of 40 Next Fighter I F-15K aircraft to the ROKAF in October 2008.

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The Korea Times reported last Wednesday, September 8, that Turkey hasbeen showing interest in joining the development program of the KF-Xfighter, South Korea The program has won investment from Indonesia,according to the newspaper .

Gen. Choi Cha-kyu, director general of bureal aircraft programs of DAPA(Defense Acquisition Program Administration - Program ManagementDefense Acquisition), during a forum held at the South Korean city ofGyeongju. According to Major General to Turkey runs about 180 F-16s andare considering, seriously, participation in the KF-X program toreplace the old with new fighters, around 2020.


Choi Cha-kyu also said that the KF-X program, which began in 2002but postponed for technical and financial problems, should start againnext year, with the consent of authorities involved in the budget.

Industry sources said that Turkey's participation in the project couldresult in a swap deal: Turkey wants South Korea to consider the T-129helicopter, under development for the Turkish Army, as a candidate forthe AH-purchase program X, heavy attack helicopters.

The KF-X program seeks to develop a site similar game to the latestversions of F-16, circa 2022.South Korea will fund 60% of developmentcosts, estimated at 5 trillion won (approximately $ 4.2 billion, or 7.3billion reais). The rest should be financed by foreign nations ordefense companies, sharing the risks.

India and South Korea today signed  MOUs For five-year defence cooperation  by signing two memorandums ofunderstandings on sharing of military expertise and technology.

Defence minister A K Antony and his Korean counterpart Kim Tae-Youngsigned the two agreements in Seoul during the former's two-day officialvisit there.

"Heralding a new chapter in the history of defence cooperation, Indiaand South Korea today signed two landmark Memorandum of Understanding(MOU) to give a huge boost to the Strategic Partnership between the twocountries," Defence Ministry spokesperson Sitanshu Kar said in arelease from Seoul.


The two MoUs were signed at the end of nearly 90-minute intensivediscussions between the delegations of the two countries, he said.

After the signing of the agreements, Antony said New Delhi would be happy to see the defence industry relationship to be morethan a buyer-seller relationship" and its further evolution intoTransfer of Technology, joint production and joint Research andDevelopment.

He expressed the hope that his visit would start a new chapter in the already close relationship between the two nations.

Kim, in his address, said the two MoUs would provide a "win-win scenario" for the two countries in a number of areas.

This was the first-ever visit of an India defence minister to South Korea.

Antony is accompanied by a high-level delegation that includes DefenceSecretary Pradeep Kumar, Navy vice admiral RK Dhowan, Army lieutenantgeneral KT Parnaik, DRDO's Dr Prahlada and Adviser to Defence MinisterSundaram Krishna.

The first MoU envisaged exchange ofdefence-related experience and information, mutual exchange and visitsby military personnel and experts including civilian staff associatedwith defence services, military education and training and conduct ofmilitary exercises, exchange visits of ships and aircraft, as jointlydecided between the two countries, Kar said.

The MoU also provided for cooperation in humanitarian assistance and international peace-keeping activities.

"The MoU will remain valid for a period of five years with provision for its extension by five more years," he said.

The second MoU was signed by the Chief Controller of Research andDevelopment of DRDO Prahlada and Vice Commissioner of DefenceAcquisition and Procurement Agency (DAPA) of South Korea Kwon Oh Bong.

To be operational under the overarching umbrella of India-SouthKorea Defence Agreement, the MoU aimed at identifying futuristicdefence technology areas of mutual interest and pursuing Research andDevelopment works in both the countries.

Co-development and co-production of defence products with Indianindustry through DRDO by South Korean industry was part of theunderstanding.

"There will be joint Intellectual Property Rights on all theproducts developed through this mechanism. Some areas of immediateinterest were marine systems, electronics and intelligence systems andthese have been identified as priority tasks," Kar said.

Antony and Kim also discussed a wide range of security issues, both regional and global during their talks.

Antony said India and South Korea shared common perception ofmaintaining peace as well as ensuring safety and security of sea lanesof communication in the region.

He said regular exchanges towards ensuring maritime security wasimportant to both countries, especially in securing vital energysupplies that pass through the Indian Ocean.

"It is of particular importance for like-minded countries working inthe Gulf of Aden to coordinate efforts and also exchange information onthe happenings in the area. We look forward to continued and enhanced cooperation between the navies of India and South Korea in this regard," he said.

On the regional security scenario in the Indian sub-continent, Antonysaid, "We live in a troubled neighbourhood. Some call it a fragileregion. We have to maintain balance and restraint even in the face ofgrave challenges to our security."

He said India's intention was to develop friendly and cooperativerelations with all our neighbours so that New Delhi can focus on itsmajor development needs.

Antony said India looked at itself as an integral part of East Asia.
Noting that India was a founding member of East Asia Summit and assuch, looked at the emerging architecture in East Asia as "open andinclusive," he said that was why India welcomed the decision of ASEANForeign Ministers to move towards the inclusion of the United Statesand Russia as members of the East Asia Summit.

"We look forward to working closely with South Korea in the emerging architecture in this part of the world," he added.

Earlier in the day, Antony, along with the delegation, visited theNational Cemetery in Seoul and laid a wreath there, apart frominspecting, amid light drizzle, a colourful inter-services guard ofhonour presented by the South Korean Armed Forces at the Ministry ofDefence headquarters.

 Antony is set toundertake a two-day visit to the East Asian nation  South Korea  in a bid to “boostdefence co-operation between the two countries”.

Antony, who willbegin his visit on 2 September, will be accompanied by defencesecretary Pradeep Kumar, defence adviser Sundaram Krishna and seniorarmy and navy officials.

“The visit is part of India’s ‘Look Eastpolicy’ and a wide range of issues, including defence and bilateralco-operation in research and development for manufacture of militaryequipment, will figure prominently during the visit,” the defenceministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

The visit comes in thebackdrop of reports of a massive Chinese military presence in theGilgit-Baltistan region in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and a recentPentagon report that details the Chinese build-up. “Antony was supposedto visit South Korea later this year but the fact that he is going now,so close after Krishna’s visit, indicates that there is some urgency incountering China’s military build-up by forging stronger military andstrategic ties with South Korea,” said Rajaram Panda, senior fellow atthe Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (Idsa). Since May,Antony has visited Oman and Seychelles and is scheduled to visit the USin late September and Vietnam in October as part of a summit of theAssociation of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).

Panda said Indiais looking to effectively counter the Chinese “string of pearls”strategy and Antony’s visit should be looked at in a larger context.“We could safely say that these are the beginnings of an India-SouthKorea-Japan axis as a counterpoise to the Pakistan-China-North Koreaone,” he said. China’s “string of pearls” strategy is designed tocontrol maritime interests in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR)) bybuilding bases or partnering with countries such as Pakistan, Sri Lankaand Myanmar in securing sea routes to move cargo and oil.

Indiaand Japan have been holding negotiations toward concluding a civilnuclear deal and analysts point out that India would actively look topursue a similar deal with South Korea. “Although chances of anIndo-Japan civil nuclear deal appear bright, Japan does have domesticpolitical issues which could come in the way. In South Korea’s case,though, there is no such issue,” said Panda.

“Japan has alwaysbeen on India’s strategic grid but not South Korea, which, because ofits technological prowess, has a potentially large stake in India’sdefence market,” said defence analyst Commodore C. Uday Bhaskar. “Theseback-to-back visits and bilateral exchanges are a tacit acknowledgementof that fact.”
Analysts say India would also seek to tap intoSouth Korea’s strong capabilities in ship-building technology. “SouthKorea has marched ahead of Japan in naval ship-building technology, soit makes sense for India to build synergies with that country,considering the fact that our naval ship-building yards have theirhands full,” added Bhaskar.

In recent years, India has increased its military, especially maritime, engagement with countries in the IOR.
The Indian Navy has been involved in anti-piracy operations off the Gulf of Aden.
“Boththe South Koreans and the Japanese are equally dependent on the IOR astheir maritime trade routes run via the IOR. Considering the fact thatIndia is the predominant naval force in the IOR, co-operation withIndia becomes inevitable,” Bhaskar said.

KwonSung Chol, quoted by the Prensa Latina government agency, spoke at anevent late Aug. 27 marking 50 years of diplomatic relations betweenCuba and North Korea.



If North Korea is attacked by U.S. and South Korean forces, "we willrespond with a sacred war based on the strength of our nucleardeterrent forces," Kwon said.
"Our government will make an efforttowards the denuclearization of the peninsula and the establishment ofa system of lasting peace based on the principle of the reunificationof both Koreas," Kwon said, according to Prensa Latina.
NorthKorea on July 24 threatened a "powerful nuclear deterrence" in responseto joint U.S.-South Korean naval exercises then taking place.
NorthKorea was prepared for a "retaliatory sacred war," North Korea'sNational Defense Commission (NDC) said in a statement carried then bythe official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
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The South Korean K11 combination 20 mm grenade launcher and 5.56 mmcarbine is now entering service and is expected to be deployed inAfghanistan when South Korean troops re-enter theatre in 2011.
K11 is the first shouldered gun able to fire air-burst grenades. Itis relatively compact at 86 cm long - the 20 mm barrel is 40.5 cm longand the carbine is 31 cm - and weighs 6.1 kg including its battery, butwithout magazines. The latter house 30 bullets and five grenades.

The grenade is available in two versions - the high explosivefragmentation K167 and target practice K168 – both weigh 100 g and arefired at a muzzle velocity of 180 m/s for an effective range of 500 m

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