Indonesian Defense Minister: "Will Pay Overdue KF-21 Development Cost Share"

The Indonesian Minister of Defense, a co-developer of the domestically produced supersonic fighter jet KF-21 (Boramae), announced that they will pay the overdue development cost contributions.

The fourth prototype of the Korean fighter jet KF-21 was moved out of the hangar at the headquarters of Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) in Sacheon, Gyeongnam, on May 9.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to the daily Kompas and others on the 28th (local time), Prabowo Subianto, Indonesia's Minister of Defense, told reporters at the presidential palace on the 26th that they will fulfill the promise to pay the KF-21 contribution. When asked whether the budget for the contribution payment was included in next year's defense budget, he said that negotiations with the Korean government are still ongoing regarding the payment plan, adding only, "The important thing is that we intend to fulfill our promise."

Minister Prabowo is a leading candidate in the upcoming Indonesian presidential election next year. His approval ratings are currently fluctuating between first and second place.

Indonesia signed a contract with Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) in January 2016 and agreed to bear about 20% of the KF-21 development costs, approximately 1.7 trillion won, by 2026. In return, Indonesia will receive one flight prototype and various technical data, and locally produce 48 fighter jets in Indonesia.

However, Indonesia has so far delayed payment by about 800 billion won compared to the original plan. Regarding this, Indonesia has promised to notify the payment plan for the overdue amount by the end of this month.

Separately from the issue of unpaid contributions, the KF-21 project is progressing smoothly. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration announced on the same day that the sixth and final prototype of the KF-21 successfully completed its test flight.

Our government plans to enter mass production from next year as the KF-21 received a 'provisional combat suitability certification' last month. If there are no issues during the performance verification process, it will receive the 'final combat suitability certification' in 2026 and be delivered to the Air Force starting in the second half of the same year.

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