BAE gains on South Korea Eurofighter hopes

24th Sep 2013 15:41

BAE System's share price was given a boost on Tuesday following the news that South Korea has reopened an 8bn-dollar tender to upgrade its ageing air force. Seoul is looking for a fleet of 60 new jets to deal with continuing threats from neighbouring North Korea. Boeing's F-15SE was thought to have been the firm favourite given that it was the only model that came in under the government's 8.3tn-won ($7.7bn) budget. However, the Defense Ministry announced on Tuesday that it would open the contract to new bids - given that Boeing's warplane lacked certain state-of-the-art stealth capabilities - raising hopes for the Eurofighter (made by partners BAE and EADS) and Lockheed Martin's F-35.BAE was trading 1.64% higher at 451.3p by 15:43 on Tuesday.Speaking after the decision, Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Min Seok said: "South Korea needs measures for retaliation against North Korean provocation [...] South Korea needs to secure military capability in line with recent aviation technology developments."Seoul said it would "swiftly pursue" the reopening of the tender.BC