The maneuvers in this dogfight shadow the intense politics of the global defense industry. Boeing has launched its war-tested F-15 against the cutting-edge but untested European Typhoon and French-built Rafale. The winner will grab a commanding place in the post-cold-war arms market. Defeat is almost unthinkable to Boeing, because U.S. companies have dominated fighter sales to South Korea. A victory for Eurofighter would be critical to the aim of the year-old European aerospace consortium European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS) to challenge American defense contractors. Victory for the Rafale, built by Dassault, would sustain France’s ambition to build its own weapons, and that may be an advantage. There is a feeling among some Koreans that France is their model: a middle-size nation with a major arms industry, independent of big countries. Seoul’s stated aim is to become an aerospace powerhouse by 2015.
The politicking has been intense–and may not have helped Boeing’s cause. When a senior Boeing executive recently visited with the chiefs of the South Korean Army, Navy and Air Force, Seoul lawmakers complained that the chiefs were supposed to be neutral. When U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell then sang the praises of the F-15 in a meeting with his Korean counterpart, it ignited a growing resentment of American influence over the Korean military. The legislators complained that U.S. defense contractors seem to be growing more and more pushy, emboldened by the support of the new Bush administration. They even pressured the defense minister to investigate the meetings with Boeing, though no improprieties were found.
The American political missteps could work to Europe’s advantage. In Seoul the Europeans are seen as more modest, and above all more willing to share critical technology than Washington. European companies have promised to take on Koreans as “industrial partners.” And while Boeing’s F-15 has destroyed more than 100 enemy aircraft without ever losing a dogfight, leaked reports of secret Korean Air Force flight tests suggest pilots prefer the cutting-edge technology of the European and French planes.
Project FX is thus part of the Korean nation-building project that goes back to the war. And that puts Boeing back in front. Not only does America still have 37,000 troops in South Korea, but Boeing has ties to many Korean contractors; choosing the F-15, therefore, creates jobs for Korea. In fact, the leaks about Seoul’s leaning to the French may be just a ploy to pressure Boeing into cutting its prices and sharing more technology. Awarding the deal to Boeing is also a way to cement wavering Bush administration support for Seoul’s campaign to make peace with North Korea 50 years after the war. This campaign is embodied in the “sunshine policy,” which is the central mission of President Kim Dae Jung’s administration. “By using the fighter project, Seoul can court Washington’s support for the sunshine policy,” said Moon Chung In of Yonsei University. “It is a good leverage to persuade President Bush.” In the end, this dogfight is likely to be won by diplomatic maneuvers.
