The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) announced on the 25th that the safety separation flight test of a long-range air-to-ground guided missile, being developed with domestic technology, was successfully conducted.
The safety separation flight test refers to confirming there is no interference with the aircraft's structure or external attachments when the guided missile separates from the aircraft, and ensuring that the aircraft's reaction characteristics do not hinder mission performance during separation.
The safety separation flight test, conducted on the 23rd, involved launching a test missile equipped on a Korean-made multi-purpose fighter FA-50. The FA-50 had gone through pre-tests for flight safety, load, and environmental tests through 31 sorties since April and was subsequently used for the safety separation flight test.
DAPA plans to conduct various tests using the test FA-50 and starting in 2027, the long-range air-to-ground guided missile will be equipped on the KF-21 prototype to ultimately verify operational performance.
The long-range air-to-ground guided missile project aims to develop a weapon using domestic technology that can precisely strike key targets behind enemy lines at long distances when mounted on the KF-21. Military authorities aim to secure a guided missile with performance equivalent to or superior to that of the German-made Taurus missile mounted on the F-15K.
DAPA began the second phase of the project in 2018. Through exploratory development from 2019 to 2021, it confirmed operational capabilities by applying stealth design and guidance technology, and has been actively progressing system development since 2022.
Jeong Gyu-heon, head of DAPA's Future Power Business Division, noted, "The success of this safety separation flight test is passing an important milestone in the development of the long-range air-to-ground guided missile," and expressed hope that it could enhance competitiveness in overseas markets with package exports of the KF-21 and the guided missile.