Tag: KF-21

Fighter aircraft is the latest defense industry that ROK defense contractors are hoping to take market share of:

South Korea, an industrial and tech powerhouse, was once so poor that its citizens donated money so the government could buy five American fighter jets in case of a North Korean invasion. Now, South Korea is a global weapons producer and seller. It is the third-largest arms supplier to NATO countries, with affordable weapons for nations seeking to refill their stockpiles of K2 battle tanks, K9 self-propelled howitzers and other items.

Its ascent underscores the nation’s dramatic economic and diplomatic evolution since that 1975 national fundraising drive for the American F-4 Phantoms. South Korea retired those Cold War-era jets in June after more than five decades in use — making way for a new generation of homegrown fighter aircraft that will make South Korea one of the few nations to develop its own supersonic jet.

South Korea hopes its KF-21 Boramae will be a cheaper alternative to the U.S.-made F-35. The prototype was unveiled in 2021, and mass production is set to begin in 2026. “South Korea is making a big push to engage globally,” said Peter Layton, a military analyst and visiting fellow at the Griffith Asia Institute in Brisbane, Australia. “They’re going from a big buyer to not just a maker but a designer of aircraft.”

Stars & Stripes

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It appears Indonesia is getting cold feet in regards to boosting their Air Force capabilities with new fighter jets from South Korea:

 Indonesia has proposed reducing its payment for a joint fighter jet development project with South Korea to around one-third of its original amount, sources said Monday, amid concerns over its delayed payments.

Indonesia recently suggested paying only 600 billion won (US$442.3 million) in total for the KF-21 jet project, they said, after originally agreeing to pay about 20 percent of the 8.1 trillion-won program launched in 2015 to build the advanced supersonic fighter by 2026.

Jakarta had initially agreed to pay the sum in return for receiving one prototype model and technology transfers, and producing 48 units in Indonesia, but is said to have proposed reducing the payment amount for fewer technology transfers.

It has so far contributed around 300 billion won to the project and has failed to keep up with payment deadlines, leading to questions over its commitment.

Indonesia is known to have asked South Korea late last year to defer its payment for the project to 2034, but Seoul has maintained its stance that it should be made by the development deadline of 2026.

Yonhap

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South Korea continues to see progress in their development of the KF-21:

The second prototype of South Korea’s homegrown fighter jet, the KF-21 Boramae, made its successful maiden test flight Thursday, the country’s arms agency said.

It took off from the Air Force’s 3rd Flying Training Wing in Sacheon, about 300 kilometers south of Seoul, at 9:49 a.m. and landed without a hitch at 10:24 a.m., according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA).

It flew at an average speed of 407 kph during the 35-minute flight near the headquarters of its developer, the Korean Aerospace Industries (KAI), a source said later.

The first prototype of the 4.5th-generation fighter succeeded in its maiden flight on July 19.

Yonhap

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