South Korea’s arms procurement agency will jointly research high-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicles with Boeing.
The collaboration aims to produce South Korean-made “advanced aircraft” with Boeing design and unmanned technology, Yonhap News Agency wrote, citing the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA).
The two sides also agreed to cooperate on the maintenance, repair, overhaul, and upgrade of Boeing aircraft used by the South Korean military.
The South Korean military operates Boeing’s F-15K fighter jets, E-737 early warning and control aircraft, and AH-64E Apache attack helicopters.
Joint Weapons Development
It follows a memorandum of understanding signed in April to jointly pursue research, development, and marketing of advanced weapon systems.
The agreement stipulated regular meetings to identify weapon systems for development.
“For over 70 years Boeing has been committed to its partnership with Korea,” Boeing Defense, Space, and Security CEO and President Ted Colbert stated in April.
“This agreement aligns with Boeing and DAPA’s common interest of establishing a strategic partnership to support the US-ROK alliance.”