U.S. gov’t tells Congress of plan to sell choppers
WASHINGTON - The United States government has formally notified Congress of a plan to seek the sale of 36 advanced attack helicopters to Korea.
In two separate notifications to Congress, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency at the Pentagon provided details of proposed sales of Boeing’s AH-64D Apache Longbow Block III or the Bell AH-1Z Cobra.
Korea is in the process of selecting a preferred bidder for 36 attack helicopters.
The two U.S. firms are in a competition that also reportedly involves the Turkish Aerospace Industry T-129B.
Seoul is scheduled to choose the winner as early as in November, defense sources said.
The agency said an estimated price for 36 Apache choppers is $3.6 billion and it includes fuselages, associated equipment, parts, training and logistical support.
It put an estimated price for 36 Cobra helicopters at $2.6 billion.
Officials from the companies, however, stressed the estimated prices are not fixed.
“The price in the notification to Congress is a maximum one in a sense, since it covers almost all equipment and services. It can go down in accordance with actual negotiations on the terms of sales,” a Boeing official told Yonhap News Agency.
Meanwhile, the agency emphasized a need to strengthen cooperation in arms sales.
Yonhap
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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