South Korea has selected L3 Harris’ Global 6500 as its new airborne early warning aircraft.
The Defense Acquisition announced that US defense company L3 Harris has been chosen as the winner of Republic of Korea Air Force’s “AEW&C Aircraft-II” acquisiton program on September 30, 2025.
ROKAF will receive total of 4x aircraft by 2032 through this $2.2 billion contract. L3 Harris will integrate the Israeli-origin ELTA EL/W-2085 radar on Bombardier Global 6500 aircraft.
This announcement comes after three previous attempts of acquiring additional AEW&C aircraft.
ROKAF currently operates 4x E-737 Peace Eye AEW&C aircraft, which is a variant of Boeing E-7A Wedgetail. ROKAF reportedly originally acquiring additional aircraft, but ultimately dismissed Boeing’s a proposal due to high acquisition cost.
Saab proposed its GlobalEye AEW&C aircraft, which is integrates Erieye-ER radar on the same Global 6500 jet as L3’s version.
L3 reportedly scored higher on operating cost and cooperation with local defense firms. Meanwhile, Saab reportedly scored higher on initial acquisition cost and contractual obligations. Ultimately, L3 scored higher than Saab.
This latest acquisition program continues ROKAF’s trend of moving away from costly US-made aircraft when it comes to its support aircraft fleet. Although L3 Harris is a US firm, it serves as a system integrator rather than end product manufacturer. ROKAF previously acquired the Airbus KC-330 and Embraer KC-390 over US-origin equipment.
.fb-post-container p {
font-size: 16px !important; /