Korea’s leading flag carrier Korean Air said Wednesday that it has signed a contract with the U.S. Air Force in the Asia Pacific region over repair work on F-16 fighters to improve combat capability.

The 35 billion won ($31 million) project includes stealth coating, inspection of wings and restoration and replacement of major parts of F-16 fighter jets from October until 2018.

The company declined to comment on the number of fighters that it would repair, calling it a trade secret.

Korean Air said it will play a key role in maintaining combat capability of the U.S. Air Force, sending a group of engineers to carry out emergency repair at their overseas units.

The new contract comes after the company secured a 40 billion won deal for F-15 fighters in September last year and another 40 billion won contract for P-3C maritime surveillance patrol aircrafts in June this year.

Some leading Korean and Japanese airplane manufacturers joined the heated bidding that opened in April, with Korean Air becoming the finalist, officials said.

“Korean Air has accumulated engineering expertise as we have participated in producing the wings and rear parts of F-16 fighters. Our restoration is considered the world’s best,” said a company official.

The company predicted the new project could lead to future business deals extending the life spans of aged airplanes. And the technical expertise is also expected to be used for the Korean Air Force, they said.

Since starting the restoration business of war planes in 1978, Korean Air has carried out maintenance work on some 2,600 airplanes and helicopters, of which 630 are F-16 fighters.

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)