KF-X Fighter Jet Revealed

[Sacheon (Gyeongnam) = Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] The first prototype of the Korean Fighter eXperimental (KF-X), a Korean-made fighter jet developed with domestic technology, will be unveiled next month. This comes 20 years after President Kim Dae-jung declared the development of a domestically produced fighter jet at the Air Force Academy graduation ceremony in 2001.

On the 24th of last month, at the Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) Sacheon plant, the KF-X prototype No. 1 was seen in the hangar, taking the shape of a fighter jet. Its surface was unpainted, showing a yellow color, with complex and tangled electrical wiring protruding from the exterior. However, its appearance was sleek, resembling a 4.5-generation fighter jet similar to the American F-35A stealth fighter.

Lee Sang-jae, KAI Fixed Wing Production Director (Executive Director), said, "The paint for prototype No. 1 is planned to be a dark gray similar to the F-15K." He added, "After painting, the engine will be reinstalled, and various functions such as the landing gear and wings will be inspected to complete the manufacturing." The KF-X is scheduled to undergo about a year of ground testing after the prototype rollout ceremony and is expected to make its first flight around July next year.

As the first domestically produced fighter jet, the KF-X aims for a 65% localization rate of parts during mass production, which is expected to have a significant economic ripple effect. The project scale amounts to 8.8 trillion KRW, including 8.1 trillion KRW for system development (Block 1) from 2015 to 2026 in collaboration with Indonesia, and 700 billion KRW for additional armament testing (Block 2) conducted solely by Korea from 2026 to 2028.

On the same day, a domestically developed Light Armed Helicopter (LAH) was also unveiled. KAI plans to promote a manned-unmanned combined system linking the LAH with domestically developed Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). The ground control station operates the UAV, and the information received is transmitted to the LAH to assist helicopter operations. The LAH prototypes No. 1 to 3 received a provisional combat suitability certification in December last year and are undergoing subsequent testing and evaluation. If the combat suitability certification is obtained as scheduled in August next year, system development will conclude in 2023.