Korea Aerospace Industries signed an expanded partnership agreement with Lockheed Martin this week, betting the deeper ties will help the South Korean manufacturer crack the lucrative U.S. defense market through a Navy pilot training contract.
The memorandum of understanding, announced at the Paris Air Show, broadens their three-decade collaboration beyond traditional aircraft to include rotorcraft, space systems and unmanned aerial vehicles. KAI intends to intensify joint marketing with Lockheed Martin to enter the U.S. market through the Navy’s Undergraduate Jet Training System program.
The Korean firm faces an uphill battle. The Navy has delayed selecting a replacement for its aging T-45 trainers until 2028, pushing back the timeline by two years amid internal debates over technical requirements. KAI’s TF-50N trainer competes against Boeing’s T-7 Red Hawk and a Textron-Leonardo partnership offering the M-346N.
KAI has found recent success internationally, securing follow-on orders from the Philippines and positioning itself for European markets with its FA-50 and KF-21 fighters. However, breaking into the Pentagon’s procurement system remains challenging for foreign manufacturers, even those with established U.S. partners.
The expanded agreement represents KAI’s most ambitious attempt yet to establish a meaningful presence in American defense spending, leveraging Lockheed Martin’s relationships to compete for contracts worth billions over the program’s lifetime.
