Korean Fighter KF-21 Taking Its First Flight

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Sacheon=Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] Our military's first domestically produced fighter jet, the ‘KF-21 Boramae,’ is set to make its first flight as early as the 19th. The pilot responsible for the first flight will be Air Force Major Ahn Jun-hyun (Air Force Academy Class 54) from the 52nd Test and Evaluation Squadron. If the first flight is successful, South Korea will become the eighth country in the world to develop a supersonic fighter jet, taking off 21 years and 4 months after the declaration of the KF-X project.

For the KF-21 Boramae's first flight, the military and Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) each selected two initial flight test personnel. Traditionally, Air Force pilots have handled the first flights of Air Force aircraft. On August 20, 2002, the first T-50 prototype was piloted on its maiden flight by Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Jo Gwang-je. The first domestically produced helicopter, Surion, had its initial flight conducted by Army Lieutenant Colonel Yoon Byung-gi (Korea Military Academy Class 49) and Warrant Officer Lee Young-bok (Rotary Wing Pilot Class 17) in 2010. However, the first flight of the Light Armed Helicopter (LAH) in 2020 was conducted with Major Oh Se-young and KAI flight test team leader Jo Jeong-hyuk onboard.

The KF-21 project is valued at a total of 8.8 trillion KRW, making it the ‘largest defense capability enhancement project since the era of Dangun.’ The project duration varies depending on the block version of the fighter jet. System development (Block I) is scheduled from 2015 to 2026, with an investment of 8.1 trillion KRW in partnership with Indonesia. Subsequently, an additional weapons test (Block II), pursued solely by South Korea, will run from 2026 to 2028 with an investment of 700 billion KRW. The Air Force plans to complete KF-21 development around 2026 and introduce a total of 120 units by 2032, prioritizing the replacement of aging fighters such as the F-4 and F-5.

After the first flight, approximately 2,000 sorties of test flights will be conducted until 2026 to verify flight performance and handling characteristics. Even during the test flights, ground tests will continue to detect and correct minor errors in the equipment installed on the KF-21 to maximize performance. The project aims to obtain a ‘provisional combat suitability’ certification in the latter half of next year, a ‘final combat suitability’ certification in 2026, and continue additional weapons testing until 2028.

Weapon systems such as long-range air-to-ground missiles to be mounted on the KF-21 are also under development. The missiles to be equipped on the domestically produced KF-21 (Boramae) were unveiled by KAI on the 6th. This is the first official public disclosure of a total of 13 types, including air-to-air missiles, air-to-ground bombs, and air-to-ground missiles.

The KF-21 is expected to carry four Meteor air-to-air missiles during its first flight. The Meteor missile, developed by six European countries including the UK, Germany, Italy, France, Spain, and Sweden, has a speed of Mach 4.5 and a range exceeding 200 km. Equipped with impact and proximity fuzes and a fragmentation warhead, it is highly lethal. The Meteor missile, which flies at speeds that even stealth fighters cannot evade, will be operated first in Asia by South Korea. It is deployed on Eurofighter Typhoon, Rafale, and also equipped on the UK’s F-35 fighter. It is regarded as the world’s highest-performance air-to-air missile currently in existence.

On this day, KAI showcased the KF-21 prototype No. 1 performing a ‘ramp taxi’ (ground taxiing) with its landing gear down at its headquarters in Sacheon, Gyeongnam. The number ‘001’ and the Taegeukgi (Korean national flag) were clearly visible on the vertical tail fin. The underside of the KF-21 was fitted with structures capable of mounting four Meteor long-range air-to-air missiles and moved under its own power.

The air-to-ground missiles to be mounted on the KF-21 are being developed domestically through the second phase of the long-range air-to-ground missile (ALCM) project. These are air-launched cruise missiles capable of precision strikes on strategic targets from long distances outside enemy air defense threat zones. Successful domestic development of the ALCM will secure a weapon system that can contribute to the US nuclear umbrella operation in times of crisis, thereby enhancing the military’s deterrence posture. In particular, it will provide armament capabilities surpassing those of the stealth fighter F-35.

Furthermore, the military plans to equip the KF-21 with hypersonic missiles that are more than twice as fast as existing supersonic missiles (Mach 2.5). If launched toward the North Korean command center in Pyongyang, located 250 km above Seoul, the missile can reach its target in 1 minute and 15 seconds. With the development of hypersonic missiles, South Korea will become the fourth country in the world to develop such technology, following the US, China, and Russia.

The KF-21 must undergo various performance tests at KAI, including full-scale airframe tests and component-specific tests. Full-scale tests include load calibration, static tests, and durability tests. Component-specific tests check for cracks in parts. In the fuel test facility, a ‘flying boom’ type aerial refueling device was used to actually load 6 tons of fuel.

A KAI official stated, “We plan to receive provisional combat suitability certification in the latter half of 2023, obtain initial mass production approval from the Defense Acquisition Program Administration Committee in the first quarter of 2024, and begin mass production around 2026.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.