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| The fifth KF-21 prototype conducts a test flight, Tuesday, from the Air Force's 3rd Flying Training Wing in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province. Courtesy of Defense Acquisition Program Administration |
By Lee Hyo-jin
Korea's homegrown KF-21 Boramae fighter jet has achieved "tentative" combat sustainability, laying the groundwork for mass production of the combat aircraft from next year, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), Tuesday.
The state-run arms procurement agency announced that the KF-21 had passed the provisional testing scheme following hundreds of ground and test flights carried out over the last two years.
Gaining tentative combat sustainability allows Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) to begin mass production even before prototypes meet all combat requirements. The procedure, aimed at speeding up the overall manufacturing process, was also used in the development of T-50 supersonic trainer jets and light-armed helicopters (LAH).
"Tentative combat sustainability has been successfully verified through various ground tests and some 200 flight tests measuring the flight speed, combat operational range, takeoff and landing distances, carried out in the last two years. This is expected to lay the groundwork for the beginning of its mass production next year," DAPA spokesperson Choi Kyung-ho said during a briefing.
The administration also said the swift evaluation process was possible through close cooperation with the Ministry of National Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).
The warplane, manufactured by KAI, is capable of traveling 2,200 kilometers per hour with a maximum range of 2,900 kilometers. Since the rollout of its first prototype in April 2021 and its maiden flight in July 2022, the KF-21 has flown about 200 sorties so far, including a flight reaching supersonic speeds in January this year.
The KF-21 is equipped with various high-end technologies including the active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar that tracks multiple targets with highly advanced and efficient components.
DAPA noted that it will further conduct additional tests including air-to-air guided missile launch and aerial fueling, with the aim of achieving final combat sustainability in 2026 and plans to deploy the first KF-21 aircraft to the Korean Air Force from the latter half of that year.
Later in the day, a fifth prototype of the KF-21 carried out a successful test flight at the Air Force's 3rd Flying Training Wing in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province. It took off at 2:19 p.m. and completed a 45-minute flight.
A total of six prototypes of the KF-21 have been rolled out.
The 8.8 trillion won ($6.7 billion) KF-21 co-development project was launched with Indonesia in 2015, with an aim to develop a supersonic fighter to replace Korea's aging fleet of F-4 and F-5 jets.
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