[Yang Nakgyu's Defence Club] Even US Defense Firms Covet It... Next-Generation Fighter Production Site

The first next-generation Air Force fighter jet developed by our own hands, the 'KF-21 Boramae,' has successfully achieved supersonic flight. It has been 22 years since the declaration of advanced fighter jet development in 2001. Fighter jets are considered a collection of cutting-edge technologies. Because of this, the ability to develop fighter jets becomes a benchmark to gauge a nation's technological prowess and national power. At the next-generation fighter production site of Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) in Sacheon, Gyeongnam, we assessed South Korea's outstanding technological capabilities and national strength.

Aircraft are broadly classified into fixed-wing and rotary-wing types based on wing type. Helicopters represent rotary-wing, while fighter jets and commercial aircraft fall under fixed-wing. The fixed-wing building at KAI, where fighter jets are produced, resembled a dome stadium. From the second floor, one could overlook the entire production line. The production line was lined with various facilities and machines, not unlike a typical factory.

However, despite the massive size equivalent to three soccer fields, the fixed-wing building had no pillars. This is because easy movement to adjacent production lines is necessary to manufacture various fixed-wing aircraft. From the second floor, one could see the 'TA-50,' a tactical trainer yet to be painted, and the 'T-50TH,' which is about to be exported to Thailand. The tail wing of the TA-50 bore the number 033, indicating it was the 33rd unit produced. Between the TA-50 and T-50TH, a gray airframe under assembly caught the eye. It was the KF-21 Boramae. The tail wing displayed the number 006, asserting its presence.

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We moved to the first-floor production line. Fighter jet fuselages and wings awaiting final assembly were arranged according to the process. Fighter jets require assembly of the forward fuselage with the cockpit, the main wing fuselage, and the rear fuselage with the tail wing, but welding is not done during this process. Holes are drilled and connected with bolts, nuts, rivets, etc., so that disassembly and reassembly are always possible. Drilling holes in the fuselage is a key task for this. Yumin-gyu, a senior researcher of the KFX project management team, said, “In the past, people drilled over 3,400 holes manually on aircraft, leading to the saying that fighter jets were the most expensive handmade products in the world. From the KF-21 onward, we introduced a Large Robot Drilling System (LRDS) to reduce time and improve accuracy.”

The wings of the KF-21 use carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) instead of aluminum like conventional aircraft. It is lightweight but stronger. While a person takes 154 seconds per hole, automated equipment completes it in 25 seconds. A robot arm resembling a human arm swiftly found positions and drilled holes. It was truly impressive.

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The assembly process was also handled by automated machinery. The automated assembly equipment (FASS) developed by KAI is an automatic alignment system that precisely fits the three aircraft structures during assembly according to design. The margin of error is less than 0.025mm, about a quarter of the thickness of an A4 sheet of paper. It is more precise than humans and reduces assembly time by 80%. These devices are so advanced that even top U.S. defense contractors envy them. FASS was first introduced during T-50 production and applied in Surion production as well. The FASS used in KF-21 assembly is the third-generation model.

A monitor next to the production line displayed the progress of the process by number. The process number is shown in four digits. The number 1118 on the monitor indicated the final stage of the process. At this stage, various systems are installed inside the airframe and the surface is covered with the outer skin. The wiring inside the KF-21 alone measures over 30,000 meters, equivalent to circling the Earth twice.

At the end of the production line, the roar of the fixed-wing aircraft could be heard from outside. Opening the door, the fourth KF-21 produced was slowly moving while increasing engine power. The KF-21 is the first two-seat fighter jet for two pilots. It was preparing for 'hi-taxing,' a kind of ground test running at 200 km/h on a 3 km runway just before takeoff. It drew figure eights in front of the hangar, shaking its tail wing left and right, then sped onto the runway swept by a biting wind. As the engine power was increased, it began to race down the runway in the blink of an eye. Through the KF-21, we could glimpse South Korea's future of dominating the global fighter jet market.

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