Development of the first domestically made fighter jet, the KF-21 Boramae, was completed on the 29th. It comes 10 years and 7 months after system development began in Dec. 2015. The first mass-production unit will be delivered to the South Korean Air Force in September.
The Defense Acquisition Program Administration held a ceremony on the 29th at the headquarters of Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI)(047810) Industries (KAI) in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province, to mark the completion of system development for the "KF-21/IF-X (Indonesia variant)."
Defense Acquisition Program Administration Commissioner Lee Yong-chul said, "The success of the KF-21 was a great achievement made possible by the blood and sweat of the engineers, and the support of all the people who believed in our technological prowess," adding, "We will promote the excellence of the KF-21 and once again prove the strength of the Republic of Korea through self-reliant defense based on technological independence."
The KF-21 program began in Aug. 2001 when President Kim Dae-jung announced the development of an indigenous advanced fighter. Full-scale system development started in Dec. 2015, and the prototype was unveiled in Apr. 2021.
In March this year, the first mass-production unit rolled out, and on May it received a "combat suitability" rating, the final hurdle in fighter system development.
The development flight tests, conducted with six prototypes, totaled more than 1,600 sorties over 42 months. Not a single accident occurred during this period. It is considered a rare record worldwide.
With the successful completion of KF-21 system development, Korea became the eighth country in the world to develop a homegrown supersonic fighter of 4.5 generation or higher.
The KF-21 is a fighter equipped with an integrated electronic warfare system, with a maximum speed of Mach 1.81 (2,200 kph), a range of 2,900 kilometers, and a weapons payload of 7.7 tons. It is designed to allow the addition of stealth capabilities through future upgrades.
The Defense Acquisition Program Administration plans to deliver 40 initial mass-production units focused on air-to-air capability to the Air Force by 2028, then produce an additional 80 follow-on units with air-to-ground and air-to-ship capabilities by 2032, deploying a total of 120 aircraft.
The KF-21 will be deployed to replace the already retired F-4 and the F-5, which is scheduled to retire next year.
KAI President Kim Jong-chul said, "Based on the KF-21, we will continue system integration with domestically developed weapons, performance upgrades, next-generation air combat systems linked with AI, and manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T), leading the Republic of Korea's leap to become a global aerospace power."