The development of the Korean fighter aircraft KF-21 “Boramae” was finalized on the 29th. This marks 10 years and 7 months since the system development project began in December 2015, and 25 years since then-President Kim Dae-jung declared the development of an indigenous fighter at the Air Force Academy graduation ceremony in 2001.

DAPA held a ceremony titled “Completion of KF-21/IF-X (Indonesian variant) System Development” on the 29th at KAI’s headquarters in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province, with officials from major government ministries, development partner institutions and companies, and representatives from Indonesia’s Ministry of Defence, the joint development partner country, in attendance.

The KF-21 program took its first step when system development began in December 2015. Starting with the rollout of the first prototype in 2021, a total of six prototypes conducted more than 1,600 high-difficulty developmental flight tests, including air-to-air weapons launches and aerial refueling tests, over 42 months without a single accident, setting a major record. DAPA stated, “This is an achievement in fighter development that is rarely seen globally.”

In May this year, the KF-21 secured a “combat suitability” judgment, the final hurdle in fighter system development, thereby establishing the foundation for mass production and proving its technological maturity. With the KF-21, the Republic of Korea became the eighth country in the world to develop an advanced supersonic fighter aircraft.

The KF-21 is a 4.5-generation fighter equipped with an integrated electronic warfare system, with a maximum speed of Mach 1.81 (2,200 km/h), a range of 2,900 km, and a weapons payload of 7.7 tons. It was designed with the future introduction of stealth performance through capability upgrades in mind.

Starting with the first mass-production unit in September this year, DAPA plans to deliver 40 initial mass-production KF-21s, focused mainly on air-to-air capabilities, to the Air Force by 2028. It then plans to produce an additional 80 units with air-to-ground and air-to-ship capabilities by 2032, deploying a total of 120 aircraft to the Air Force. The KF-21 will serve as an air power asset replacing the already retired F-4 and the F-5 fighters that are scheduled to retire next year. DAPA and industry also intend to accelerate efforts to develop export markets for the KF-21, targeting countries such as Indonesia, the joint development partner, and the Philippines.

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