Boeing is nothing if not resilient. One month after receiving a black eve when South Korea decided to re-tender its 60-air-craft F-X III competition rather than select the F-15 Silent Eagle, which was the only contender inside Seoul's budget, the US air-framer changed tack, pitching an aircraft it dubs the "Advanced F-15" at October's Seoul air show. That shift may prove to be a winning move, despite South Korea's selection of the Lockheed Martin F-35A to replace its fleet of obsolete McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantoms. That order will be for 40 of the fifth-generation aircraft for delivery from 2018, with an option for another 20. However, there are still another 20 aircraft to play for, which in today's world of tight defence budgets is a big deal. Believed to be in the frame for this non-stealth part of the package are F-X III losers Eurofighter Typhoon and F-15 - and Boeing's apparent price advantage may well swing the deal for its "Advanced" offering, which lacks the canted tails and conformal weapon bays of the Silent Eagle.
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