ORAC
5th Feb 2024, 06:18
Thought it deserved its own thread now serial production has started…
https://www.defensenews.com/air/2024/02/02/south-korea-to-start-mass-production-of-kf-21-fighter-jets/
South Korea to start mass production of KF-21 fighter jets
MANILA, Philippines — South Korea will build 40 KF-21 Boramae fighter jets this year with the 238.7 billion won (U.S. $178.6 million) allocated for the Defense Ministry, even as the aircraft makes its way through flight and ground tests.
The first mass production of the KF-21 is expected to fill the “power vacuum” left when the South Korean Air Force’s aging fighter fleet retires, the defense minister said in a Dec. 21 statement.
According to Korea Aerospace Industries, which makes the KF-21, the engineering and manufacturing phase will conclude in 2026. The Korea Times reported (https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2024/01/113_351065.html) in January the Air Force plans to deploy the first KF-21 in the second half of that year.
The KF-21 is set to replace the F-4 and F-5 fleets, and the Air Force plans to have some 120 Boramae jets in total by 2032….
Flight, ground and additional tests for the remaining prototypes will continue until 2028 — the same year Air Force squadrons are to begin flying the first batch of KF-21s for air-to-air missions.
The fighter jet boasts cutting-edge avionics, including active electronically scanned array radars, and it can carry a range of advanced precision weapons….
In a December 2022 news release, DAPA announced plans to spend 190 billion won to enable the KF-21 to carry long-range missiles…. And last year, the agency announced plans to develop short-range, air-to-air missiles for the Boramae, to be completed in 2035….
KAI has also tested various missile systems under agreements signed last year with the European weapons maker MBDA (https://www.mbda-systems.com/press-releases/mbda-and-kai-to-deepen-cooperation/). The companies plan to mount air-to-surface missiles and short-range air-to-air missiles following an earlier contract that involved mounting Meteor air-to-air missiles on some prototypes.
In April, German company Diehl Defence announced (https://www.diehl.com/defence/en/press-and-media/news/successful-test-firing-of-the-air-to-air-missle-iris-t-on-kf-21/) a KF-21 successfully fired the IRIS-T air-to-air missile.
KAI hopes the KF-21 will become its next export success. In 2022, the company signed contracts (https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2022/09/17/poland-inks-deal-for-fa-50-light-attack-aircraft-from-south-korea/) with Poland for 48 FA-50 light attack aircraft…. Last December, the Royal Malaysian Air Force ordered (https://www.defensenews.com/global/asia-pacific/2023/05/25/malaysia-inks-light-combat-jet-maritime-patrol-aircraft-deals/) 18 FA-50 Block 20 Fighting Eagles….
https://www.defensenews.com/air/2024/02/02/south-korea-to-start-mass-production-of-kf-21-fighter-jets/
South Korea to start mass production of KF-21 fighter jets
MANILA, Philippines — South Korea will build 40 KF-21 Boramae fighter jets this year with the 238.7 billion won (U.S. $178.6 million) allocated for the Defense Ministry, even as the aircraft makes its way through flight and ground tests.
The first mass production of the KF-21 is expected to fill the “power vacuum” left when the South Korean Air Force’s aging fighter fleet retires, the defense minister said in a Dec. 21 statement.
According to Korea Aerospace Industries, which makes the KF-21, the engineering and manufacturing phase will conclude in 2026. The Korea Times reported (https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2024/01/113_351065.html) in January the Air Force plans to deploy the first KF-21 in the second half of that year.
The KF-21 is set to replace the F-4 and F-5 fleets, and the Air Force plans to have some 120 Boramae jets in total by 2032….
Flight, ground and additional tests for the remaining prototypes will continue until 2028 — the same year Air Force squadrons are to begin flying the first batch of KF-21s for air-to-air missions.
The fighter jet boasts cutting-edge avionics, including active electronically scanned array radars, and it can carry a range of advanced precision weapons….
In a December 2022 news release, DAPA announced plans to spend 190 billion won to enable the KF-21 to carry long-range missiles…. And last year, the agency announced plans to develop short-range, air-to-air missiles for the Boramae, to be completed in 2035….
KAI has also tested various missile systems under agreements signed last year with the European weapons maker MBDA (https://www.mbda-systems.com/press-releases/mbda-and-kai-to-deepen-cooperation/). The companies plan to mount air-to-surface missiles and short-range air-to-air missiles following an earlier contract that involved mounting Meteor air-to-air missiles on some prototypes.
In April, German company Diehl Defence announced (https://www.diehl.com/defence/en/press-and-media/news/successful-test-firing-of-the-air-to-air-missle-iris-t-on-kf-21/) a KF-21 successfully fired the IRIS-T air-to-air missile.
KAI hopes the KF-21 will become its next export success. In 2022, the company signed contracts (https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2022/09/17/poland-inks-deal-for-fa-50-light-attack-aircraft-from-south-korea/) with Poland for 48 FA-50 light attack aircraft…. Last December, the Royal Malaysian Air Force ordered (https://www.defensenews.com/global/asia-pacific/2023/05/25/malaysia-inks-light-combat-jet-maritime-patrol-aircraft-deals/) 18 FA-50 Block 20 Fighting Eagles….