미.러.중, 아시아서 전투기 각축전

 

미. 러. 중, 아시아서 전투기 각축전

[연합뉴스] 2008년 03월 24일(월) 오전 09:21

(워싱턴 AFP=연합뉴스) 미국이 추격에 나선 러시아, 중국 등과 함께 아시아에서 치열한 전투기 판매 경쟁을 벌이고 있다. 한국을 비롯한 일본과 인도, 호주 등이 이른바 '제5세대' 최신형 전투기 구매 추진을 통해 공군력 강화에 박차를 가하고 있으며 말레이시아와 인도네시아 등 동남아 국가들도 중국의 제4세대 전투기 구매에 눈독을 들이고 있다.

미국이 군장비 현대화와 경쟁력 강화 등으로 인해 그야말로 황금시장으로 부상한 아시아 무기시장에서 주도권을 빼앗기지 않기 위해 안간힘을 쓰지만 러시아와 중국이 가격경쟁을 내세워 무섭게 추격하고 있기 때문이다.

국제평가전략센터(IASC)의 리처드 피셔 박사는 AFP와의 인터뷰에서 "미국과 러시아가 아시아 항공기시장 쟁탈전을 벌이고 있지만 중국이 얼마나 공격적으로 진입하는가에 관심이 쏠려 있다"고 말했다.

이어 "아시아 경제가 급속도로 발전한 결과 자국의 영공에 대한 방어 능력을 강화하려는 추세"라고 덧붙였다. 미국은 현재 제5세대 전투기로 불리는 F-22 랩터 와 F-35 라이트닝Ⅱ 전투기를 독자적으로 생산하고 있으며 현재 운용중인 전투기중 세계 최강으로 평가받는 F-22 해외 판매를 법률로써 금지하고 있다.

하지만 비교적 가격이 저렴한 F-35는 2012년 실전 배치를 앞두고 시험비행 중이다.

현재 러시아와 중국은 제5세대 전투기 판매 시점을 국방계획으로 미뤄볼 때 먼 미래가 아닌 2015년과 2020년 사이로 예상하고 있다. 이와 관련 항공 전문가인 루빈 존슨은 최근 워싱턴에서 개최된 포럼에서 "러시아가 예상하는 제5세대 전투기 가격이 F-35보다 낮고 F-22보다 실제로 저렴하다"고 지적했다.

더욱이 러시아가 중국의 경쟁국가인 인도에 최첨단 무기를 수출하자 중국이 러시아 무기 수입량을 크게 줄였다. 러시아는 제5세대 전투기에 대해 인도와 함께 공동개발. 공동생산 체제를 구축한 상태다.

현재 미국은 120억 달러 상당의 제4세대 전투기 126대를 인도에 판매하기 위해 러시아 등과 치열한 경합을 벌이고 있다. 결국 미국이 러시아와의 판매 경쟁에서 살아남으려면 호주와 일본이 탐내고 있는 F-22에 대해 판매 금지법을 해제해야 한다는 지적마저 일고 있다.

호주는 56억 달러를 투입해 미국으로부터 F/A-18 전투기 24대를 구입한다는 정부 결정을 예정대로 추진할 방침이다. 아울러 이전 정부가 결정한 대로 F-35 전투기를 구입할지, 아니면 F-22 전투기를 패키지 형태로 함께 구입할지 여부를 검토할 것으로 알려졌다.

동남아 최강의 전력을 자랑하는 싱가포르 공군 역시 F-35전투기 구매를 원하는 것으로 전해졌다. 중국은 파키스탄과 손을 잡고 저렴한 가격의 제4세대 전투기 FC-1을 공동개발하고 있다. 또 말레이시아와 인도네시아, 미얀마 등에 공격적인 판매 전략을 세워놓고 있으며 동남아지역 국가들에 공중조기경보기(AWACS) 판매를 서두르고 있다.

연합뉴스 

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US, Russia, China in fierce battle to sell fighter jets in Asia

23/03/2008 22h31

                                     US Air Force's stealth fighter F-22A Raptor

AFP/File - Yoshikazu TsunoWASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States is bracing for tough competition from Russia and China as cash-flush Asian economies look up to the trio for a new breed of fighter jets to beef up their air forces, experts say.

Japan, India, Australia and South Korea are keen to have the most modern, fifth generation, jet fighters while Southeast Asian nations such as Malaysia and Indonesia are reportedly eyeing fourth generation fighters from China.

With Asia powering ahead with military modernization and capability growth, the United States wants to maintain leadership in defense sales in the region attracted by low cost offerings from Russia and China, experts said.

"The Americans and Russians are competing hard for the Asian fighter aircraft market, but everybody is also watching to see how aggressively the Chinese will be entering this market," Richard Fisher, an expert with the Washington-based International Assessment and Strategy Center, told AFP.

The tight competition comes as Asian economies move ahead "much more aggressively" to upgrade their air defense capabilities, he said.

"It's not quite right to say an arms race, but there is an arms jog in Asia," Fisher said.

The United States is currently the sole producer of fifth generation fighters -- the F-22s and F-35s. Export of F-22s is barred by law while the lower cost F35s have just started flight testing ahead of deployment around 2012.

Russia and China's fifth generation fighter offerings could well be on the market between 2015 and 2020, a time frame experts say is not very far away in terms of defense planning.

"I don't want to get into the numbers because they were given to me in confidence but the price the Russians are estimating for their fifth generation fighter is substantially less than the Joint Strike Fighter (F-35) and substantially less than F-22," US aviation expert Reuben Johnson told a Washington forum last week on "challenges to the Asian air power balance."

He said the Russian arms industry was grappling with high production costs.

Russian weapon exports to China have also plunged as Beijing became more wary over Moscow's sales of its most advanced weaponry to neighbor India, Johnson said.

"What is really the challenge is we have two very large countries, China and India, whose economies are booming and who are buying lots of hardware and we are looking at a situation down the road where they are going to have very, very sophisticated air forces," he said.

Russia had already teamed up with India to co-develop and co-produce a version of Moscow's fifth generation fighter, but Fisher said that given the Indian preference of diversifying its weapons sources, it was possible New Delhi could purchase a US fifth generation fighter at some point.

The United States is also vying with Russia and others for a 12-billion-dollar contract to sell 126 fourth generation fighter jets to the Indian air force.

The competition from Russia could prod the Americans to lift an export ban on F-22s, eyed by Australia and Japan, top US allies in the region, experts said.

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates hinted during a recent Australian visit that Congress may be asked to reconsider the ban. "It is imperative that the United States consider selling some version of the F-22 to maintain a strong deterrent posture in Asia," Fisher said. "I would say categorically that Japan requires a capability of the level of the F-22 in order to sustain a sufficient position to deter China," he said.

Japan and another key US ally, South Korea, have indigenous fifth generation fighter programs but their transition to full scale development is uncertain.

Australia is also in the midst of a debate over the future of its fighter force.

Canberra recently said it would go ahead with the previous government's decision to acquire 24 US F/A-18 fighter jets for 5.6 billion dollars.

It also may review whether to purchase all of the F-35s the previous government committed to, or include F-22s in the package as well, experts said. "There is a considerable private lobby and even some bipartisan interest in trying to purchase the F-22 because of fear of Russian sales to Southeast Asia and China's looming challenge," Fischer said.

Singapore, with one of the most powerful air forces in the region, is seen as probably a good potential customer for the F-35s.

The US-Russia competition for the fourth generation fighters is expected to be intense -- but China is emerging as a wild card. "I would say within the next five years, China will be quite competitive at the low cost end of the fourth generation market," Fisher said.

Pakistan, for example, is co-developing a very low cost fourth generation FC-1 fighter with China and is very likely going to be the first export customer for China's larger J-10 fighter as well, experts said.

China is expected to "market aggressively" to Malaysia, Indonesia and Myanmar the same two fighters as well as the KJ-200 AWACS aircraft to the Southast Asian region, Fisher said.

Malaysia and Indonesia have purchased a relatively small number of advanced Russian Sukhoi fighters.