South Korea initiated the AEW&C II program in 2020 to supplement its fleet of four E-737s that had been experiencing low mission availability rates.
South Korea’s Defense Acquisitions and Program Administration (DAPA) announced on Sep. 30, 2025, U.S company L3Harris as the winner of the competition for the next AEW&C (Airborne Early Warning and Control) aircraft of the ROKAF (Republic of Korea Air Force), reports from Seoul said.
Designated the AEW&C II, four of the platforms will be inducted by 2032 for 3.0975 trillion won ($2.2 billion), the 171st Defense Acquisition Program Promotion Committee decided. The L3Harris system is based on the Bombardier Global 6500 business jet, with the CAEW (Conformal Airborne Early Warning)-type aircraft carrying an Israeli ELTA EL/W-2085 radar, according to Yonhap. A fact-sheet by L3Harris says the Israeli system is a dual-band system with GaN (Gallium Nitride) technology.
The competitive bidding beat out the other contender, the Saab GlobalEye AEW&C system. A November 2024 direct FMS (Foreign Military Sales) approval from the U.S. of four more E-7s now also stands cancelled.
The ROKAF already operates four E-7A Wedgetails, locally designated as the E-737, that were inducted by 2012 under the Peace Eye project. Those aircraft had however been experiencing low mission availability rates.
軍, 차기 항공통제기로 美 L3해리스의 글로벌6500 선정 – 조선비즈
보잉의 입찰 포기로 L3해리스 vs 사브 2파전이긴 했음
이걸로 한국 공군 조기 경보 통제기는 이원화 https://t.co/TKOmhi66td
— Alis volat propriis (@Alisvolatprop12) September 30, 2025
Production and acquisition
Generally, such cross-company partnerships would see L3Harris undertaking the modifications on the Global 6500, integration of the radar and mission systems, along with the final aircraft rollout. For the South Korean program, L3Harris has been announcing agreements and business interactions with Korean Air since 2023.
One of those said: “Korean Air has participated from the start and will provide engineering and will lead in-country modification and testing activities of aircraft three and four. Korean Air will also lead in-country sustainment of the program.”
A scale model of the L3Harris-ELTA-Bombardier CAEW system was also displayed at the TADTE 2025 in Taiwan, as the island looks to replace its older E-2K AEW&Cs.
L3Harris previously displayed scale models of three other Global 6500-based electromagnetic sensing aircraft at South Korea’s Aerospace Conference in 2024. The CAEW was designated “Phoenix” and the EW/jamming and ISTAR platforms called “Crow” and “Griffon,” respectively, with all of them shown in ROKAF marking.
In an Industry Day L3Harris and Korean Air participated in on Aug. 13, 2024, L3Harris’ release quoted president of ISR Sector Jason Lambert, who said “If L3Harris’ Global 6500 AEW&C solution is selected, we will harness the power of strategic, domestic industrial collaboration to achieve our goal of Korean Made – Korean Operated – Korean Maintained. We are enthusiastic about fortifying local industry with new aircraft modification, mission system production, logistics, and maintenance, repair and establishment (MRO) capabilities.”
Lambert’s statement also implied two of the four aircraft will be bought in a flyaway condition from L3Harri’s facilities in the U.S.
Korean Air’s president of the Aerospace Business Division Jung Woo Park specified the company will secure “the latest special mission aircraft modification, integration and maintenance technology in-country and contribute to expand the scope of domestic participation.” He further added “We also plan to contribute to continuous logistics support by securing an advanced MRO center for the Republic of Korea AEW&C program.”
At the time of writing there was no statement from L3Harris regarding the selection of its proposal.
How the winner was selected
Quoting DAPA, Yonhap said that L3Harris secured a “higher evaluation score” than the “only other contender” in the bidding, which was the Swedish defense firm Saab. While the U.S. was not participating in the competitive bidding tender, it had clarified in the past that its FMS offer remained on the table when Seoul announced the next phase of the AEW&C project in 2020.
Yonhap’s Korean language version further shed light on L3Harris’ final selection by quoting DAPA, saying there was “no significant difference” in the core technical performance of both the Saab and the L3Harris’ systems.
“L3 Harris received high scores in the areas of operational suitability, domestic defense industry contribution, and operation and maintenance costs, while Saab received high scores in the areas of contract terms and acquisition costs. As a result of synthesizing the scores for each evaluation item, L3 Harris received a high score,” the report added. The GlobalEye is similarly based on the Bombardier Global 6000/6500 business jet.
L3Harris showcased a model of the Global 6500 “Phoenix” AEW&C at the #TADTE2025. The aircraft, based on the Bombardier Global 6500 business jet, is equipped with the latest-generation EL/W-2085 CAEW (L&S) dual-band AESA radar from Israeli company ELTA Systems, using GaN… https://t.co/Jfms6K3XzA pic.twitter.com/0rnRYuRI8c
— 笑脸男人 (@lfx160219) September 20, 2025
South Korea’s AEW&C II program had stalled
The Defense Acquisition and Program Administration (DAPA) launched the AEW&C II program in 2020 for acquisition by 2027. Then, in November 2024, the U.S. approved a potential sale to Seoul of four E-7As under the FMS (Foreign Military Sales) route for $4.92 billion, to supplement the existing fleet of four E-737s/E-7s.
However, the AEW&C II program had stalled according to Australian Defence Magazine, which reported on Jul. 17, 2025, that the bidding rounds have failed since the offers “exceeded the program budget of $2.6 billion, with reports suggesting negotiations had also run into difficulties over payment schedules.” As it now turns out, those issues have now been resolved.
Current South Korean AEW&C capability
As previously mentioned, the ROKAF currently operates four E-7A Wedgetails with the local designation E-737, acquired under the Peace Eye program for $1.6 billion. All of them were delivered by October 2012. The first of the aircraft was manufactured and missionized at Boeing’s facility in Seattle, Washington, while Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) conducted the integration on the remaining three airframes at Sacheon in South Korea.
ROKAF E-737 Peace Eye (64-700) PUS/RKPK April 2023 pic.twitter.com/7WnwANCrhV
— Andrei (@Andrei32989622) May 3, 2023
In ROKAF’s service, the E-737 has acute serviceability issues and low availability rates. In October 2019, South Korean daily Munhwahlbo reported a ROKAF document submitted to lawmakers citing frequent failures since 2015, failing to meet a targeted availability rate of 75%. The degraded airborne radar surveillance weakens the country’s defense against North Korea’s expanding ballistic and cruise missile program.
DAPA now said the acquisition will “ensure round-the-clock aerial surveillance capabilities against enemy air threats during both wartime and peacetime, and to enable independent and efficient air control operations by the South Korean military.”
The E-7 program is also under threat in the U.S. where the 2026 budget favors cuts to the program. The system is already operated by the Turkish Air Force and the Royal Australian Air Force, with the Royal Air Force preparing to induct it and NATO being a future user. The Wedgetail will replace NATO’s fleet of 14 E-3 AWACS (Airborne Early Warning and Control System), with the first delivery scheduled for 2031.
