Once operational, the KF-21 jet is expected to be armed with a range of air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles – and possibly even air-launched cruise missiles.
The twin-engined fighters come in one- and two-seat versions, depending on the missions they are assigned to.
A new era of independent defense has begun, and it is a historic milestone in the development of the [South Korean] aviation industry, ”President Moon Jae-in said on the rollout of the KF-21, nicknamed Boramae, or“ young hawk trained for hunting, ”at Korea Aerospace Industries’ manufacturing facility in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang.
Moon said that after ground and flight tests are complete, mass production of the KF-21 will begin with a target of 40 jets deployed by 2028 and 120 by 2032.
“When mass production begins on a large scale, 100,000 additional jobs will be created and we will have an added value of 5.9 trillion Korean won ($ 5.2 billion). The effect will be much greater if they are exported,” said Moon.
According to the country’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), South Korea is expected to produce six KF-21 prototypes for testing and development, with the first three to be completed by the end of this year and the next three in the first half of 2022. .
Exclusive club
Although only 65% of the KF-21 is of South Korean descent, its rollout is still a significant achievement for a country that does not have a long history of aircraft production.
“When the final tests are completed in the future, South Korea will become the eighth country in the world to develop an advanced supersonic fighter,” said a government statement.
Those countries are the United States, Russia, China, Japan, France, Sweden and a European consortium of the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and Spain.
Of these, only the United States and China have deployed domestically-made fifth-generation fighter jets – aircraft with stealth technologies, radar jamming capabilities and advanced avionics that integrate onboard and remote data to give pilots a complete real-time view of their operation , according to NATO’s Joint Air Power Competence Center.
While the DAPA calls the KF-21 a 4.5-generation fighter jet because, for example, it lacks an internal weapon bay that increases stealth, analysts say it may be able to fly higher and faster than the latest fifth-generation U.S. fighter. , the F-35, and still with a robust weapon load.
“The KF-21 is the first fighter plane to be made with domestic technology, and it indicates that South Korea is now capable of building its own fighter planes. It will also be a springboard to develop better fighter jets and locally developed weapons. operate. ”a DAPA statement told CNN.
The KF-21 is a joint project of South Korea and Indonesia, in which Seoul owns 80% of the shares, while Jakarta is pursuing 20%. South Korea says Indonesia is lagging behind in payments for the project, but negotiations are continuing and the Jakarta defense minister was at the rollout on Friday.
Moon hailed Indonesia for his role. “I especially thank the Indonesian government for becoming a partner who believed in South Korea’s potential,” he said.
The new jet is expected to replace South Korean F-4 and F-5 fighters, the third generation of US-designed jets first introduced in the 1960s.
As production runs increase, it could also replace South Korea’s fourth-generation F-16s and F-15Ks, analyst Abraham Ait, editor-in-chief of Military Watch Magazine, wrote in The Diplomat last year.
South Korea also has F-35 stealth fighters, which received the first in an order of 40 jets in 2018.
Overseas sales
While the KF-21 could eventually replace hundreds of fighters in South Korea’s fleet, it also has significant export potential as its price tag is expected to be significantly lower than the F-35s the US sells to foreign armies.
Thailand, the Philippines and possibly even Iraq “could be the fighter’s main customers,” Ait wrote, noting that those countries all use the same type of aircraft that will replace the KF-21 in South Korea’s fleet. They were also customers of South Korea’s indigenously developed FA-50 light-attack fighter.
If Seoul succeeds in marketing the KF-21 as an export product, it will continue a trend for South Korea. According to statistics from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Seoul’s arms exports between 2016 and 2020 were 210% higher than in the previous five years, giving South Korea a 2.7% share of the global arms market.
Government spokesman Lim Se-eun said on Thursday that South Korea plans to improve its own surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities, electronic warfare, its air defense, build stronger guided weapons and secure an independent satellite navigation system and space wars – all with the aim of fighting against To be in the top seven countries in the global aviation industry by 2030.