US Congress expected
to approve Global Hawk's sale to S. Korea soon
The Korea Times.
10/5/12
The U.S. Congress is
expected to approve the proposed sale to South Korea of Global Hawk unmanned
aerial vehicles, and the two sides are in talks on price, a government
official said Friday.
South Korea hopes to
purchase the advanced spy aircraft to bolster its surveillance capabilities
over North Korea as the country prepares to retake wartime operational control
of its troops from the United States in 2015.
Congress has the final
say in the sale of Global Hawks to foreign countries.
The price of each
Global Hawk has jumped to 940 billion won (US$846 million) from an initially
estimated cost of some 400 billion won, sources said.
With the delay in the
planned purchase of Global Hawks, South Korea has considered two other
U.S.-made spy drones -- the Global Observer made by AeroVironment and Boeing's
Phantom Eye -- as alternatives. (Yonhap)
