L3Harris Technologies has teamed with Korean Air and Israel Aerospace Industries’ Elta Systems to design and deliver the Republic of Korea Air Force’s next-generation airborne early warning and control aircraft.
According to the Janes website, South Korea plans to acquire four AEW&C aircraft to counter North Korea’s rising ballistic missile activity.
The L3Harris team’s proposed AEW&C solution will be based on the mission-tested L3Harris platform design powered by Bombardier’s Global 6500 high-altitude business jet. It will integrate IAI/Elta’s radar technology and artificial intelligence algorithms as the airborne battle management platform.
Korean Air will provide engineering support and lead in-country testing and modification.
L3Harris said that its team’s Global 6500-based AEW&C proposed aircraft is designed for higher altitudes, faster speeds and longer missions but costs less to purchase, operate and maintain than current platforms.
A modular open systems approach integrates the proposed solution’s mission system, enabling less costly and rapid upgrades to meet shifting challenges, it added. The team’s previous projects include several Italian Air Force conformal airborne early warning aircraft for NATO mission support and two Israeli Air Force CAEW for local missions, the company also noted.
A FlightGlobal report in October said three other groups besides the L3Harris team are competing for the anticipated South Korean request for proposals: Boeing, which supplied Seoul’s E-7 Peace Eye aircraft; Saab, which has proposed its GlobalEye AEW&C aircraft; and IAE, which has put forward its Conformal Airborne Early Warning and Control System.
