[Yang Nak-gyu's Defence photo] Visiting the KF-X Assembly Site

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] The first prototype of the Korean Fighter eXperimental (KF-X), developed with domestic technology, will be unveiled next month. This comes 20 years after President Kim Dae-jung declared the development of an indigenous 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 first KF-X prototype was seen in the hangar, already taking the shape of a fighter jet. Its surface was yellow as it had not yet been painted, and complex, tangled electrical wiring protruded 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 the first prototype will be a dark gray similar to the F-15K. After the painting process, 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 delivery 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 reaches 8.8 trillion KRW, including 8.1 trillion KRW for system development (Block 1) jointly pursued with Indonesia from 2015 to 2026, and 700 billion KRW for additional weapons testing (Block 2) conducted solely by Korea from 2026 to 2028.