The government says it plans to buy eight Seahawk helicopters and 18 Harpoon Block Two missiles from the United States.

The U.S. Defense Department reported to Congress that it plans to export eight MH-60R Seahawk helicopters worth some one billion dollars to South Korea through the foreign military sales (FMS) program.

The FMS program is the government-to-government method for selling U.S. defense equipment, services and training. It differs from conventional methods of buying weapons which center on the direct purchase of arms through defense enterprises.

The U.S. came to consider such exports after the South Korean government sought to purchase eight Seahawk helicopters and T-700 engines, communication equipment, electronic war systems and training equipment from the U.S.