UK officials are lobbying for Rolls-Royce to replace US rival GE Aerospace as the main engine partner on South Korea’s fighter jet programme, as Britain seeks closer ties with the Asian nation’s booming arms sector to help rebuild its own defence industrial base.

South Korean defence group Hanwha Aerospace produces current-generation engines on the KF-21 fighter jet under licence from GE. But US export restrictions over national security concerns have frustrated Seoul’s ambitions to sell the jet to potential buyers such as the United Arab Emirates and Indonesia.

As an alternative, South Korea has been looking to develop its own engines, with Hanwha and local rival Doosan Enerbility pitching for a role in the next generation of the KF-21, which is due to enter production in the mid-2030s.