Israli aircraft maker IAI ELTA said Friday it has obtained U.S. approval for technical assistance related to surveillance plane exports, and it wants to be back in the competition for South Korea's big-ticket project.
In August, South Korea chose Boeing as the sole bidder for its project to procure surveillance aircraft, dropping the Israeli company from the competition.
In a statement, Nissim Hadas, president of IAI ELTA said, "The U.S. government approval provides the final component of the ELTA team effort to ensure a secure, interoperable and supportable solution." In September, South Korea extended the deadline for price negotiations with Boeing Co. of the United States over the purchase of surveillance aircraft until the end of November because of a wide difference in the range of prices.
South Korea will not be able to announce whether Boeing is the winner of the project until they complete price negotiations for the contract. Successful price negotiations would enable Boeing to win the 2 trillion won (US$2.1 billion) project, code-named E-X, which aims to provide four spy planes to South Korea by 2012.
Both sides refused to reveal the range of prices addressed in a series of negotiations.
"We hope we will receive a response to our letter to DAPA and invite us back. Considering the final decision has not been made, we are in a position to offer an alternative because we have all the requirements," said Avishai Izhakian, director of the surveillance aircraft project at IAI ELTA, in a news conference in reference to the Defense Acquisition Program Agency.
After it obtained U.S. approval for technical assistance on Oct. 27, the Israeli firm sent a letter to DAPA requesting its participation in the bidding process on Tuesday.
Izhakian and other officials called upon DAPA to take back its decision to disqualify the Israeli firm from the competition, saying it stemmed from DAPA's belated request for the removal of provisos in its export license.
"When DAPA gave us the deadline, there was nothing we could do about it," said Vic Galindo, an executive member of IAI ELTA's U.S. partner DRS.
South Korea gave IAI ELTA until the end of July to remove any restrictions on its U.S. export license, putting off its decision on whether to disqualify the Israeli company from the country's project.
But the Israeli firm failed to meet the deadline and instead submitted two letters of statement to the South Korean authorities.
DAPA had warned IAI ELTA that if it fails to secure the restriction-free license it will result in the company's elimination from the lucrative E-X program.
In June, South Korea gave a green light to two surveillance plane models for the project, but it asked the Israeli company to ensure it could obtain an export license on par with that of Boeing when it sets forth the terms for the contract, as well as accept a penalty clause if it fails to comply. Boeing has no conditions attached to the license.
Since its elimination from the competition, IAI ELTA has questioned the fairness of the bidding for the project, claiming the country has created a favorable environment for its U.S. rival.
The surveillance plane project is aimed at strengthening the aerial surveillance capability of South Korea, which is still technically in a state of war with North Korea since the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice instead of a peace treaty.
South Korea plans to deploy the first two surveillance planes in 2009 and the other two in 2011. The country now depends on U.S. radar aircraft based in Okinawa, Japan, as it has no aerial warning systems of its own.
Seoul, Nov. 3 (Yonhap News)
Israel's firm says it is 'wild card' for E-X program |
