Once commissioned, the KF-21 aircraft is expected to be armed with a series of air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles – and possibly even air-launch missiles.
The twin-engine fighter jets come in single- and two-seater versions, depending on the tasks they are assigned.
A new era of independent defense has begun, and it is a historic milestone in the development of the [South Korean] aviation industry, “said President Moon Jae-in at the launch of the KF-21, nicknamed Boramae, or ‘young falcon trained for hunting’, at the Korea Aerospace Industries production plant in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province. .
Moon said after the ground and flight tests are completed, mass production of the KF-21 will begin with a target of 40 aircraft deployed by 2028 and 12032 in 2032.
“When full-scale mass production begins, 100,000 additional jobs will be created and we will have an added value of 5.9 billion Korean won ($ 5.2 billion). The effect will be much greater if it is exported,” he said. Moon said.
South Korea is expected to produce six KF-21 prototypes for testing and development, the first three completed by the end of this year and the next three in the first half of 2022, according to the DAPA (Defense Acquisition Program Administration) . .
Exclusive club
Although only 65% of the KF-21 is of South Korean origin, it is still an important 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 have developed an advanced supersonic fighter,” the government said in a statement.
The 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 fifth-generation domestic-manufactured fighter jets – aircraft with stealth technologies, radar storage features and advanced aviation that integrate data on board and remote to give pilots a complete real-time view of according to NATO’s Joint Air Power Competence Center.
While DAPA calls the KF-21 a 4.5-generation fighter jet because, for example, there is no internal bay that increases stealthiness, analysts say it may be able to fly higher and faster than the latest fifth-generation US manufacturer. . , the F-35, and still carries a robust weapon load.
“The KF-21 is the first fighter aircraft manufactured with domestic technology, and it indicates that South Korea is now capable of building fighter jets on its own. It will also be a springboard for developing better fighter jets and locally. to develop developed weapons, a statement from DAPA told CNN.
The KF-21 is a joint project between South Korea and Indonesia in which Seoul owns 80% of the shares while Jakarta wants 20%. South Korea said Indonesia was in arrears with payments to the project, but negotiations were continuing and Jakarta’s defense minister was on Friday’s start.
Moon salutes Indonesia for its role. “I especially thank the Indonesian government for a partner who believes in the potential of South Korea,” he said.
The new fighter jet is expected to replace South Korea’s F-4 and F-5 fighter jets, the third generation of American-designed jets first introduced in the 1960s.
As production increases, it could 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 operates F-35 stealth fighters, receiving the first in a 40-jet order in 2018.
Overseas sales
While the KF-21 could eventually replace hundreds of fighter jets in the South Korean navy, it also has significant export potential because the price tag is expected to be significantly lower than the F-35s that the US sells to foreign military companies. .
Thailand, the Philippines and possibly even Iraq could be ‘leading customers for the fighter’, Ait wrote, pointing out that the countries are all using the same type of aircraft that will replace the KF-21 in South Korea’s navy. They were also customers of South Korea’s indigenously developed FA-50 league attack fighter.
If Seoul is successful 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 were 210% higher from 2016 to 2020 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 build its own surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities, improve electronic warfare, improve its air defenses, build more powerful guided weapons and an independent satellite navigation system and space warfare capability. secure – all with the aim of being in the top seven countries in the world shipping industry by 2030.