South Korea's government voted down a bid by Boeing to supply 60 F-15 Silent Eagle jets.
The decision comes as some surprise since F-15 Silent Eagle was the only one eligible and to come under a $7.7 billion budget of three submitted according to Reuters.
"Our air force thinks that we need combat capabilities in response to the latest trend of aerospace technology development centered around the fifth generation fighter jets and to provocations from North Korea," defense ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok said to reporters, according to Reuters.
F-15 Silent Eagle was rejected because the government prefers Lockheed Martin's F-35A Lightning II, which was the second bid.
The government feels the F-35 is a more advanced fighter jet and has already been ordered by seven different countries including Israel and Japan.
A third bid by the Eurofighter consortium's Typhoon was ruled out since it was over budget.
Boeing said it followed South Korea's arms standard during the entire process but the government was not happy with the end result, according to the Associated Press.
The South Korean government and air force are planning on considering a new budget and tender process. It could take up to a year to complete the new tender.
"DAPA will swiftly pursue the program again in order to minimize the vacuum in combat capabilities," South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), according to Reuters.
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