The military authorities are reviewing a plan to delay the force integration of the Korean fighter KF-21. To field 80 aircraft by 2032 and enhance its armament capabilities, several trillion won in defense capability improvement funds would have to be invested every year, but the budget is limited and there are many other projects that must proceed, they said.
According to the military and the defense industry on the 9th, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration has recently been holding consultations with the Ministry of National Defense, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), the Air Force, and others on adjusting the KF-21 force integration timeline. It is reported that a plan is under review to push back by one year to 2029 the completion of the force integration of 40 aircraft under the KF-21 Block I program, and to delay the Block II program, which adds GPS-guided bombs (KGGB) and an indigenous air-to-ground missile.
The military initially planned to mass-produce 80 KF-21 Block II aircraft and complete force integration by 2032, but if the schedule is adjusted, the completion date is expected to change to 2034 or 2036.
The reason the military is considering changing the plan is a lack of budget. A total of 4.35 trillion won is needed to mass-produce 40 Block I fighter jets. Starting with the first mass-produced unit to be fielded in September this year, the amount for the first batch of 20 aircraft is 1.96 trillion won. The amount for the second batch of 20 aircraft, originally to be mass-produced by 2028, comes to 2.39 trillion won. However, of this year's 19 trillion won in defense capability improvement funds, the budget allocated to the KF-21 is only 1.4181 trillion won.
Next year, because Block I mass production and the Block II program will proceed simultaneously, it is expected that around 3 trillion won in budget will have to be injected into the KF-21 alone. After that, as the mass-production volume increases, the size of the required budget will grow further.
By contrast, many expect the size of the defense capability improvement funds to remain at a level similar to this year. For that reason, if the KF-21 receives funding as scheduled, other military projects could face setbacks.
A prime example is a nuclear-powered submarine, which was discussed at last year's South Korea–U.S. summit. To start the program, a budget related to a nuclear-powered submarine is expected to be appropriated as early as next year. It is estimated that just the construction cost per boat would be 2 trillion to 3 trillion won. Considering development and maintenance expenses as well, the total could easily exceed 10 trillion won. The Korea Destroyer Next Generation (KDDX) is also a project whose introduction is urgent.
A military official said, "Among the military's weapons system programs carried out so far, there has not been a single case where more than 2 trillion won per year was invested," adding, "Given the high risk of blocking other new projects, adjusting the KF-21 force integration schedule is inevitable."
The Air Force, on the other hand, argues that the KF-21's force integration should proceed as scheduled. The KF-21 was developed to replace the Air Force's F-4 and F-5 fighters. The F-4 and F-5, introduced between 1977 and 1986, are among the Air Force's most obsolete models. Because these fighters are so old that they should be retired immediately, the Air Force says the KF-21's force integration is urgent.
If the KF-21's force integration is delayed, related domestic aviation and defense corporations are expected to be hit by increased expenses due to changes in production schedules. Building one KF-21 requires 300,000 parts, and the number of partner companies that make these parts reaches about 300.
A Defense Acquisition Program Administration official said, "The deadline for submitting the budget request, including next year's defense capability improvement funds, is the end of this month, so there is still time," adding, "We will continue thorough discussions with the Air Force."