Hanwha Thales has been selected as the preferred bidder by the South Korean military for development of an advanced radar system for the Korean Fighter Experimental project, or KF-X.

The selection was made Wednesday by the country's Defense Acquisition Program Administration, according to the Korea Herald newspaper .

The radar to be developed for an indigenously made fighter will be an Active Electronically Scanned Array radar. AESA radar's signals are spread out across a band of frequencies and are difficult to detect, adding a degree of stealth to the platform using it.

Further negotiations between Hanwha Thales and the military will now take place and a contracted is expected to be awarded in June, the report said.

"The technological capacities and cost efficiency were the two main categories in selecting the priority negotiation partner, along with security and cooperation with small and medium enterprises," said a military official.

South Korea intends has budgeted some $1.6 billion for the new fighter project and plans to procure 120 of the aircraft.