[Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club] Export of K-Fighter Jets Targeting the US Mainland

Government: "Sufficient Development of Carrier-Based Aircraft Model"
Possibility of Exporting Mainland Trainer Aircraft Surpassing US Fighter Jets

With the imminent deployment of the Korean fighter jet 'KF-21,' it is expected that the development of carrier-based fighter jets and fighter jet exports will accelerate. The government also believes that it is fully possible to develop the KF-21N (Navy), a carrier-based model derived from the KF-21 for the Navy's aircraft carriers.

The light aircraft carrier development project, which is smaller in scale than conventional aircraft carriers, was promoted during the Moon Jae-in administration but was halted under the current government. This year, no budget has been allocated for the light aircraft carrier project, and with the Air Force deciding to procure about 20 additional stealth fighters, the project faced the risk of being shelved. However, the situation reversed after the results of a study conducted by the Defense Technology Promotion Research Institute on 'Domestic R&D Plans for Carrier-Based Fighter Jets' showed that with an investment of 4.1 trillion won over 10 years, development and mass production could be achieved, enabling operational deployment. It is also cheaper than the vertical takeoff and landing stealth fighter F-35B model.

The F-35 stealth fighter, a 5th generation fighter developed by the United States, is divided into the F-35A for the Air Force, which takes off from runways, and the B model capable of vertical takeoff and landing in place. Recently, prices have been continuously rising due to economies of scale. Initially, 353 F-35B units were planned for the US Marine Corps, 138 for the UK Air Force, and 30 for the Italian Air and Navy forces. Additionally, Australia, Spain, and Turkey, which operate or plan to introduce light aircraft carriers, also intended to procure about 100 units.

However, the US Marine Corps declared a significant reduction in the number of F-35B units to be procured, leading to a decrease in production volume and signs of price increases. Even US media have forecasted a bleak outlook for F-35 series exports. These concerns became reality. The unit price of the F-35B sold to Singapore in 2020 was $229.16 million (approximately 268.2 billion won), but later, the UK reportedly purchased them at about 300 billion won per unit.

Amid the weakening price competitiveness of the US F-35, Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) is targeting the US market with its light fighter FA-50. The FA-50 has export contracts totaling about 140 units worldwide, including to the Republic of Korea Air Force, Poland (48 units), Indonesia (22 units), Malaysia (18 units), the Philippines (12 units), Thailand (14 units), and Iraq (24 units).

KAI expects that combining the US Navy's Tactical Surrogate Aircraft (TSA), New Joint Trainer System (UJTS), and the US Air Force's Advanced Trainer (ATT) projects, which are anticipated to intensify in the next 2-3 years, could enable exports of around 500 units. Experts believe that in this regard, the FA-50 can secure a significantly advantageous position in these three projects. Although the KAI-Lockheed Martin consortium faced setbacks in the 2018 APT project, the FA-50 is still mentioned as a prominent model attracting US attention. Particularly, if the T-50 series aircraft enter the US market, it is expected to dominate over 50% of the overseas advanced trainer and light fighter market. This implies capturing the large fighter market with export volumes of 1,300 units.

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