U.S OKs Sale of Boeing F-15 or Lockheed Martin F-35 to South Korea

Boeing’s F-15 Silent Eagle fighter or the Lockheed Martin F-35 Stealth? South Korea will now have to decide which after the U.S. Defense Department on Wednesday approved the sale of either to the country.

South Korea plans to buy 60 new jet fighter planes, and is expected to announce its decision later this year, according to a Reuters story posted on Yahoo! News.

As tensions between South Korea and North Korea continue to mount, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), informed lawmakers about the potential sales. It said the new planes would help South Korea “deter aggression in the region.”

But industry and government officials said the announcement was unrelated to the current crisis on the Korean Peninsula.

Also in contention for the sale is the Eurofighter Typhoon, built by EADS, Finmeccanica SpA and BAE Systems. The deal is expected to be worth some $7.43 billion.

"Evaluations of the three competitive offers, including price discussions, are on-going," said Joe DellaVedova, spokesman for the Pentagon's F-35 program office.

Boeing declined to comment on the details,  but said it was confident its fighter would be best suited to South Korea needs. The country already operates a fleet of F-15s, but the newer Silent Eagle model offers improved stealth characteristics.

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