South Korea awards LIG Nex1 and Korean Air contract to develop first domestic electronic warfare aircraft

The programme, valued at 1.56 trillion won, equivalent to about USD 1.1 billion, was launched by the Defense Acquisition Program Administration. LIG Nex1 will act as prime contractor with Korean Air as the main partner, and the aircraft will be based on the Bombardier Global 6500 platform.

LIG Nex1 will develop and install the electronic warfare systems, while Korean Air will integrate them into the aircraft and handle production. The consortium was selected over a competing bid from Korea Aerospace Industries and Hanwha Systems in September 2025, with two Block-I aircraft planned initially and two more advanced Block-II aircraft to follow for the South Korean Air Force.

The new platform is expected to become one of the most complex military aircraft operated by the Republic of Korea. Until now, the country’s electronic warfare capabilities have relied mainly on fighter-mounted systems rather than dedicated aircraft, and the new design is intended to operate outside the range of enemy air defences.