On Monday, South Korea has named Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd as the preferred bidder for an ambitious deal involving the development of a new fighter jet.

The deal is considered to be as one of South Korea's most ambitious weapons development programs. The project is named as KF-X, Korean Fighter Experimental. The new fighter jet will replace the old fleet of F-4s and F-5s.

The South Korean contractor was of the view that it is a multibillion-dollar deal. Initial investment on the project is 8.7 trillion won and the total cost in the project would be more than double that amount.

More than 50% of the investment in the project will be from the Seoul and 20% will be from Indonesia and the remaining part will come from KAI and its technology-support partner Lockheed Martin Corp.

Korea Aerospace Industries said that 2015 is its most probably the most profitable year, after it is almost at the verge of winning the project.

On Monday, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, the country's arms procurement agency, said that the KAI has been selected as the preferred bidder for the project to develop mid-level jets.

"KAI will lead the next-generation fighter development project successfully based on its technology and experience accumulated with the development of FA-50 and the Surion", affirmed KAI CEO Ha Sung-yong.

The company is responsible for the development of the nation's first homegrown trainer jet T-50, the Golden Eagle and the first Korean-made military helicopter. The aircraft maker will develop the program as mentioned with Lockheed Martin in order to have technological assistance from the latter company.

It is estimated that the project would create an economic impact of around 90 trillion won with more than 300,000 additional jobs related to aerospace industries.