Aviation
S. Korea to Buy 40 Fighter Jets With Stealth Capabilities
SEOUL – South Korean military leaders recommended purchasing 40 fighter jets with stealth capabilities and indicated Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT)’s F-35 provided the best defense against North Korea’s growing nuclear threat.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff didn’t specifically name the Lockheed jet as the winner of the multi-billion dollar order in its statement, though the F-35 is the “only aircraft that fits requirements” set by the military, Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Min Seok told journalists in Seoul today.
The original tender process, which began almost two years ago, bogged down following the rejection of Boeing Co. (BA)’s F-15 Silent Eagle, as defense priorities shifted after the North launched long-range rockets and tested a third nuclear device. In recent months, South Korea has revised its security strategy to include the possibility of first strikes against the North, putting a premium on radar-evading technology.
“The stealthiness of the F-35 is a key consideration when you think about what kind of missions the Republic of Korea Air Force could be conducting — deep strike, for one,” said James Hardy, a London-based analyst at IHS Jane’s Defence Weekly.
The Joint Chiefs decision came hours after North Korea threatened to strike out at President Park Geun Hye and turn the presidential Blue House in Seoul into a “sea of fire” if South Korea makes any provocations, an unnamed North Korean military spokesman told the official Korean Central News Agency.
The fighter jet South Korea will buy “should be able to strike strategic targets after stealthily penetrating” into North Korea, the Joint Chiefs said in the statement.
More Planes
South Korea will sign the contract for the jets next year and take delivery starting in 2018, the Joint Chiefs said. The original tender was for 60 planes. Another 20 jets may be ordered depending on security needs, according to the statement.
The Lockheed F-35 was originally rejected as being too costly. By initially buying 40 jets the F-35 would now be within the original 8.3 trillion won ($7.8 billion) budget, easing final passage of the purchase by the Park government. Lockheed officials weren’t immediately available to comment.
The decision was also a setback for Boeing. In September, the ministry indicated it might consider buying a mix of planes, after refusing Boeing’s F-15 SE for the entire order because it lacked sufficient radar-evading capabilities.
Fighter Gap
“Once we are officially notified, we will closely review all new documentation before deciding how best to proceed forward,” Boeing said in an e-mailed statement. “We remain confident that the Advanced F-15, with its superior speed, range and payload, combined with cost and schedule certainty, is what Korea needs to meet its defense needs and address the growing fighter gap.”
Lockheed spokesman Philip Rood declined to comment on the fighter jet selection in South Korea.
South Korea faces North Korea over one of the world’s most heavily armed borders, a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War that ended in a truce. In 2010, North Korea bombarded a South Korean island near the front line, killing four people. That incident has led South Korean military officials to vow air strikes should another frontline provocation take place.
U.S. Forces
President Park said Oct. 1 her government would hasten development of stepped-up surveillance and improved offensive weapons. The government has budgeted 1 trillion won next year for the plan. South Korea is also going to take over in the coming years war-time command of its forces from the U.S., which maintains about 28,500 troops in the country.
The U.S., Australia, Japan and Israel are among nations that have placed orders for the F-35, the Pentagon’s costliest weapon system.
The current price tag for 2,443 F-35s is $391.2 billion, a 68 percent increase from the projection in 2001, as measured in current dollars. This year, U.S. lawmakers, the Government Accountability Office and the Pentagon’s test office have said the aircraft is making progress in flight tests and in stabilizing production.
“Having more F-35s acquired by foreign allies and partners is helpful to us in keeping the costs lower for our own acquisition of the fighters that will eventually be the backbone of our fleet,” Bruce Lemkin, a former senior U.S. Air Force official who now heads Lemkin International LLC, a consulting firm, said by e-mail.
South Korea is expanding its air forces at time when the U.S. is trying to convince North Korea to abandon its nuclear program and return to the six-nation talks that offered the country aid in return for disarmament.
Signs that the North would consider de-nuclearization are “absent,” U.S. envoy for North Korea Glyn Davies said today on a visit to meet South Korean officials in Seoul.
– BLOOMBERG
An Air Peace flight from Lagos to Port Harcourt has suffered a disruption, after the aircraft was affected by a bird strike on arrival at the Port Harcourt International Airport.
The airline made the disclosure on Thursday in a statement signed by its spokesperson, Osifo-Whiskey Efe.
He added that the incident necessitated safety checks on the affected aircraft and the deployment of another aircraft to convey passengers on subsequent flights.
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“We deeply empathise with passengers affected by this unforeseen incident and are working diligently to minimise disruptions,” Efe said.
The latest incident adds to the growing challenge of bird strikes faced by local airlines.
In December 2025, Air Peace disclosed that it recorded 49 bird strikes across Nigeria between January and September, stressing that even a single strike could ground an aircraft for weeks.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the airline, Allen Onyema, had said on Arise TV that bird strikes constituted a major operational challenge, often leading to costly repairs and serious disruptions to flight schedules.
“One bird strike could cripple your aircraft for the next month. At that moment, there is no two ways about it. These bird strikes often lead to costly delays and serious disruptions in flight schedules,” he said.
He added that losses from such incidents compound other challenges facing Nigerian airlines, including heavy taxation and operational constraints.
With the firm belief that it is both sadistic and absolutely despicable, the recently announced outrageous hike in airfares to South East from Abuja to Lagos for Yuletide of 2025 by over 131 percent by Air Peace and United Nigeria Airlines, the owners have been asked to immediately have a rethink and review backward these harsh, toxic and unfriendly airfares targeting Igbo passengers exclusively.
Making the charge to the chairmen of Air Peace and United Nigeria airlines, Mr. Allen Ugochukwu and Mr. Obiora Okonkwo, the prominent civil rights advocacy group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) expressed anger that these businesses whose proprietors are Igbo by birth are fond of making it so difficult for hundreds of thousands of Igbo passengers residing outside of the South-East to travel home on Christmas festivities.
The rights group say that for many years now, because Air Peace and United Nigeria Airlines are monopolies and then Igbos have the tradition exclusively in Nigeria of going home to South East from all over the globe during Yuletides, these few airlines have decidedly fixed toxic ticketing airfares for Igbos whereas northerners who also travel during their religious festivities of salah are not subjected to such exploitative treatments.
The HURIWA accused the two airlines of price fixing, which is anti-competition just as the Rights group said it is giving these two Igbo-hating airlines to review backward their toxic and discriminatory airfares within ten working days from today or it will petition the federal government publicly funding consumer rights body[Federal Competition and Consumer Rights Commission) in Abuja.
The HURIWA wonders if these Igbo owners of private airlines known for making their planes available to government for free during emergencies are in a conspiratorial plots with haters of Igbo land who are unhappy at the convivial and happy atmospheres in the South East during Yuletide, just as the rights group has appealed to Igbo governors to immediately intervene and urge Mr. Allen Ugochukwu and Mr Obiora Okonkwo to treat the Igbo just as they treat for instance northern Muslims who also migrate home to northern Nigeria from around the globe during their Muslim festivities because what is good for the goose, is good for the gander.
The HURIWA said that if Air Peace Airlines have gotten involved in many humanitarian efforts of airlifting Nigerians from outside of our shores for free, it becomes of the Airline ought not to maltreat their clients of Igbo extraction.
The HURIWA quoted from the business official website of Air Peace in which it described its latest humanitarian effort to be an addition to a growing list of interventions by Dr. Allen Onyema and Air Peace.
Quoting Air Peace website, HURIWA stated that Air Peace said thus: “In 2019, the airline airlifted 503 Nigerians free of charge from South Africa amidst xenophobic attacks. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Air Peace conducted multiple repatriation flights. In 2022, the airline flew Nigerian evacuees out of war-torn Ukraine. In May 2023, Dr. Onyema again deployed Air Peace aircraft to evacuate 277 stranded Nigerians from Sudan.
As the rescued women prepare to begin a new chapter, supported by medical care and reintegration efforts, one truth stands out: Air Peace is more than just an airline — it is a bridge of hope for Nigerians in crisis, and a national symbol of empathy, courage and service,” HURIWA conclusively quoted Air Peace.
The HURIWA therefore strongly condemns the two airlines for hiking and fixing unaffordable airfares indiscriminately against Igbo passengers, even as the festive season draws near, Air Peace and United Nigeria Airlines have raised their return ticket fares to N677,000, a move that could add financial strain on travellers. The rise in airfares reflects the high demand expected during the holiday rush.
Key Points
Air Peace and United Nigeria increase return ticket fares to N677,000 for the yuletide season.
Airfares on routes to the South-East, including Enugu and Anambra, experience the highest surge.
Ibom Air offers comparatively cheaper tickets, with return fares at N381,600.
Air Peace’s one-way fare for December to January peaks at N350,500.
United Nigeria will also charge N350,500 for select routes between December 11 and the end of the year.
Northern routes, including Lagos-Kano, face smaller increases, with fares starting from N106,900.
Experts predict even higher airfares, with one-way tickets possibly reaching N500,000.
The rise in flight prices signals the start of a challenging holiday travel season, with airfares higher than usual due to increased demand. Travelers must be prepared for the surge, with some routes seeing even higher fare projections.
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The HURIWA is hereby warning the two airlines to withdraw their price fixing malpractices against Igbos or else the Rights group would seek justice and redress for the millions of Igbos who would return home for the 2025 Yuletide from the Federal Competition and Consumer Rights Commission and the National Human Rights Commission of Nigeria. The HURIWA threatened to drag the two airlines to the Nigerian President through the Honourable Minister of Aviation and Transportation.
An Abuja-Accra flight experienced technical difficulties mid-air on Friday, forcing it to return to Abuja, shortly after departure.
The Nigerian Safety Investigation Board (NSIB) made the disclosure in a statement, adding that it has launched investigation into what it described as a serious accident.
Director, Public Affairs and Family Assistance, NSIB, Bimbo Olawumi Oladeji stated that preliminary investigations revealed the aircraft experienced an engine number two indication issue.
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It was gathered that the aircraft, with registration number 5NKAL which was operating a flight from the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport, Abuja (DNAA), to Kotoka International Airport, Accra (DGAA).
She explained that four persons were onboard when the incident occurred. The crew immediately requested for a diversion back to Abuja due to the engine indication.
Oladeji added that the crew managed to safely land the aircraft at Abuja Airport at 18:16 UTC.
There were no injuries reported, and all individuals on board are safe.
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