Despite rumors that Boeing’s F-15SE is South Korea’s choice in the country’s F-X fighter competition, the company said it’s still too early to say. “Boeing has not received an official notification from the Republic of Korea regarding a decision in the F-X competition,” company spokeswoman Amy Horton told the Daily Report on Thursday. “We await word on the next steps in the selection process,” she said. Lockheed Martin released a statement on Aug. 19 saying “speculative media reports across the world” claiming that the South Koreans eliminated the F-35 from further consideration based on cost are “not accurate.” The company said it had not received “an official notification” as to “the results of the price bidding” for F-X. Lockheed Martin spokeswoman Laura Siebert told the Daily Report on Thursday that the company had not received any new information since the release of its statement. Eurofighter is offering the Typhoon fighter in the F-X contest. Press reports have also claimed the South Koreans have opted against it.
A provision in the fiscal 2025 defense policy bill will require the Defense Department to include the military occupational specialty of service members who die by suicide in its annual report on suicide deaths, though it remains to be seen how much data the department will actually disclose.