Development of South Korea's KF-21 Boramae supersonic fighter jet was finalized on the 29th, about 10 years and seven months after the systems development program was launched in December 2015.
The first mass-production unit is scheduled to be delivered to the Republic of Korea Air Force around September, marking the operational deployment of a supersonic fighter built by Korean hands.
The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said it will hold a ceremony marking the "Conclusion of KF-21/IF-X (Indonesian version) Systems Development" at the headquarters of Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province, on the 29th. The event will be attended by officials from major government ministries, agencies and companies that participated in the development, and Indonesia's Ministry of Defense, a co-development partner nation.
"The success of the KF-21 was a great achievement made possible by the blood and sweat of our engineers, along with the support of the entire nation that trusted and cheered for our technological capabilities," DAPA Commissioner Lee Yong-cheol said.
The KF-21 program began following President Kim Dae-jung's declaration to develop an advanced homegrown fighter jet in August 2001. Systems development was launched in December 2015, followed by the KF-21 prototype in April 2021 and the rollout of the first mass-production unit in March this year.
A total of six prototypes of the KF-21 were built. Over the past 42 months, the program set a remarkable record by completing about 1,600 high-difficulty development test flights flawlessly, without a single accident. It is a fighter development achievement rarely seen even globally.
With the development of the KF-21, South Korea became the eighth country in the world to develop an advanced supersonic fighter of the 4.5th generation or higher.
DAPA plans to deliver 40 initial mass-production KF-21s, focused on air-to-air capabilities, to the Air Force by 2028. Over the mid-to-long term, it envisions producing an additional 80 units equipped with air-to-ground and air-to-ship capabilities by 2032, deploying a total of 120 units to the Air Force.
The KF-21 will be used as an air power asset to replace the retired F-4 and the F-5, which will be retired next year.
