ATHIRD attempt to secure offers to supply 60 new fighters for South Korea's FX-III requirement was abandoned in late September after the only remaining bid was rejected. Boeing's F-15SE Silent Eagle had been the sole remaining eligible candidate for the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) requirement after the latest bids had been submitted on August 16. However, the Korean Defence Ministry announced on September 24 that, following a meeting of the Defence Acquisition Programme Administration (DAPA), which oversees the project, it had been decided to re-tender the contract for a fourth time. "DAPA's Executive Committee voted down the selection of the F-15SE after comprehensive, in-depth reviews of performances, costs and other elements of the aircraft, " DAPA spokesman Baek Yoon-hyung told reporters. "We'll reopen a bid as early as possible after reconsidering both operational and budget requirements." As both other contenders in the programme, the Eurofighter Typhoon and Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II, had come in over the strict 8.3 trillion won ($7.3 billion) ceiling set for the acquisition, it had been thought that the F-15SE would have been officially announced as the winner.
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