South Korea orders first batch of KF-21 fighters

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — Nine years after development of South Korea’s KF-21 Boramae began, the government has signed a deal with Korea Aerospace Industries for the production of 20 fighter jets .

The order comes as KAI reports the fighter’s development is currently 80% complete.

The Defense Acquisition Program Administration awarded KAI the 1.96 trillion won contract (U.S. $1.41 billion) for the Block 1 batch, the company announced June 25. The platforms are considered 4.5-generation aircraft.

The first aircraft will be delivered by the end of 2026, and the final from this series by Aug. 31, 2027, according to KAI.

“Despite many challenges and difficulties, the KF-21 system development project was able to reach mass production stably, thanks to the solid cooperation of related organizations,” KAI President Kang Goo-young said in a news release.

Jinseok Song, who works on the firm’s KF-X program management team, named after the initial title for the KF-21 , told Defense News last year that the company would manufacture 40 KF-21 Block I and 80 Block II aircraft. However, DAPA has initially ordered 20, per recommendations from the government-run Korea Institute for Defense Analyses.

The government may order another 20 next year, after further verification of the aircraft’s performance.

Song said production for Block II, slated for development from 2026 to 2028, will add air-to-ground capabilities and an expanded performance envelope. About 2,200 test sorties are to be flown by 2026.

KAI has been preparing for this production contract by readying a supply chain of 600 domestic companies, building production facilities and acquiring tools. KAI aims to achieve a localization rate of 65%, noting that “just as the localization rate gradually improved with delivery of the T-50 [jet] and Surion [helicopter], it’s expected the domestic production rate will increase as the aviation industry ecosystem is strengthened with mass production of the KF-21.”

The KF-21 will replace South Korea’s F-4 and F-5 fighters, with the former having retired this month.

Additional agreements

DAPA also recently signed a contract with Hanwha Systems for 20 active electronically scanned array radars for 110 billion won.

And on June 25, Hanwha Aerospace announced it inked a 556 billion won contract to produce 40 General Electric F414-GE-400 engines plus spares for the first score of KF-21s.

The first engine is expected to be ready by the end of 2025 and will be produced at a new factory in Changwon. With the capacity to manufacture 300 engines annually, Hanwha Aerospace broke ground for this new $30 million facility in April.

Hanwha Aerospace has reportedly manufactured more than 10,000 aircraft engines over the past 45 years, 82% of which were produced under license.

“This contract serves as a stepping stone for Hanwha Aerospace’s plans to develop next-generation engine technologies,” the company said.

The firm added that it “is actively pursuing research and development in sixth-generation engine technology.”

Similarly, looking beyond the KF-21, KAI said it will “further develop sixth-generation manned and unmanned system technology .”

Gordon Arthur is an Asia correspondent for Defense News. After a 20-year stint working in Hong Kong, he now resides in New Zealand. He has attended military exercises and defense exhibitions in about 20 countries around the Asia-Pacific region.

新西兰基督城——韩国 KF-21 博拉梅战斗机研发九年后，新西兰政府与韩国航空航天工业公司签署协议，生产 20 架战斗机。

KAI 报告称，该战斗机的研发目前已完成 80%，与此同时，KAI 也下达了这项订单。

韩国航空航天工业公司（KAI）于6月25日宣布，国防采办计划管理局已授予该公司价值1.96万亿韩元（约合14.1亿美元）的Block 1批次合同。这些平台被认为是4.5代飞机。

据韩国航空航天工业公司（KAI）称，首架飞机将于 2026 年底交付，该系列的最后一架飞机将于 2027 年 8 月 31 日交付。

“尽管面临诸多挑战和困难，但由于相关机构的密切合作，KF-21系统开发项目得以稳定地进入批量生产阶段，”韩国航空航天工业公司（KAI）总裁姜九英在新闻稿中表示。

该公司KF-X项目管理团队成员宋镇硕（Jinseok Song）去年告诉《防务新闻》，该公司将生产40架KF-21 Block I型和80架Block II型飞机。KF-X是KF-21的最初名称。然而，根据韩国国防分析研究院的建议，国防采纳局（DAPA）最初只订购了20架。

在进一步验证飞机性能后，政府明年可能会再订购 20 架。

宋先生表示，计划于2026年至2028年研发的Block II型无人机将增加对地攻击能力并扩大性能范围。到2026年，预计将进行约2200架次的测试飞行。

韩国航空航天工业公司（KAI）为此次生产合同做了充分准备，包括构建由600家国内企业组成的供应链、建设生产设施以及购置相关工具。KAI的目标是实现65%的国产化率，并指出：“正如T-50战斗机和Surion直升机的交付逐步提高了国产化率一样，随着KF-21战斗机的量产，航空产业生态系统得到加强，预计国产化率也将随之提高。”

KF-21 将取代韩国的 F-4 和 F-5 战斗机，其中 F-4 已于本月退役。

附加协议

韩国国防采办计划管理局（DAPA）最近还与韩华系统公司签署了一份价值1100亿韩元的合同，采购20部有源相控阵雷达。

6月25日，韩华航空航天公司宣布签署了一份价值5560亿韩元的合同，为首批20架KF-21战斗机生产40台通用电气F414-GE-400发动机及备件。

首台发动机预计将于2025年底前完成，并将在昌原市一家新工厂生产。韩华航空航天公司于今年4月为这座耗资3000万美元的新工厂举行了奠基仪式，该工厂年产能为300台发动机。

据报道，韩华航空航天公司在过去 45 年里生产了超过 10,000 台飞机发动机，其中 82% 是获得许可生产的。

“这份合同是韩华航空航天公司开发下一代发动机技术计划的垫脚石，”该公司表示。

该公司还表示，“正在积极开展第六代发动机技术的研究与开发”。

同样，展望KF-21之后，韩国航空航天工业公司表示将“进一步发展第六代有人和无人系统技术”。

戈登·阿瑟是《防务新闻》的亚洲特派记者。在香港工作20年后，他现居新西兰。他曾到访亚太地区约20个国家，参加过军事演习和防务展览。