S. Korea pushes to switch fighter jet contractor to Lockheed

South Korea began the official process Wednesday of changing the contractor for its project to upgrade the country's aging fleet of F-16 fighter jets amid controversy over the contractor's demands for a higher price, Seoul's arms procurement agency said.

The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said it presented its plan to change the contractor from London-based BAE Systems to American defense firm Lockheed Martin at its monthly defense project committee meeting presided over by Defense Minister Han Min-koo.

Under the 1.75 trillion won (US$1.62 billion) contract, DAPA and the U.S. defense department agreed in July 2011 to have BAE Systems upgrade 134 KF-16 variants C and D Block 52 to improve their electronic warfare capabilities.

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