President Moon Calls 20 KF-21 Developers by Name, Saying "A Great Strength for South Korea's Future" (Comprehensive)

The World's 8th Supersonic Fighter Jet Developer... "A New Era of Self-Defense, A Historic Milestone"

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Jeong-min] "Today, I would like to introduce to the people twenty contributors who have made special achievements in the development of the ‘KF-21,’ which has become our pride."

On the afternoon of the 9th, President Moon Jae-in, attending the rollout ceremony of the first KF-21 prototype at the Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) production plant in Sacheon, Gyeongnam, introduced each of the twenty contributors involved in the design and development.

President Moon said, "I ask for a big round of applause once again for the twenty developers who led the historic rollout of the ‘KF-21’ prototype today," adding, "Without the unwavering dedication of the developers over the past 20 years, we would not have met the ‘KF-21’ today. The confidence and pride created by the ‘KF-21’ will be a great strength for South Korea as it moves toward a better future."

The reason President Moon could not hide his elated expression is due to the symbolism of the KF-21 prototype, a Korean next-generation fighter jet independently developed. The event was attended by over 250 key figures, including government, National Assembly, and military officials, foreign diplomatic corps in Korea, aviation-related businesspeople, workers, students, local residents, related public institutions, and the Indonesian delegation led by Prabowo Subianto, Indonesia’s Minister of Defense.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The prototype, which first appeared at KAI’s fixed-wing assembly building, is a fighter jet developed primarily by our engineers from design to production. The rollout of this first prototype is an achievement realized 20 years after the rollout of the T-50 advanced trainer jet prototype in 2001.

Once final testing is completed, South Korea will become the eighth country in the world to develop an advanced supersonic fighter jet. Our engineers led the entire process from prototype design to production.

The Blue House explained, "We have localized four major avionics systems?Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar, Infrared Search and Track (IRST) system, Electro-Optical Targeting Pod (EO TGP), and Electronic Warfare (EW) suite?that rival the performance of 4.5-generation fighter jet equipment from other countries, along with other core components." It added, "Currently, 719 domestic companies are participating, focusing on localizing 69 out of 100 major components."

The Blue House further stated, "This rollout is the fulfillment of a long-cherished wish for ‘aircraft made by our own hands,’ continuing from the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea, and is regarded as a significant leap toward strengthening national competitiveness in the aerospace sector, which the government has been actively pursuing since the 2000s."

The government plans to focus on building aerospace power that leads future battlefields through ▲independent surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities ▲electronic warfare capabilities ▲air defense capabilities ▲enhancement of guided weapon power ▲independent satellite navigation systems and space warfare capabilities.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

In his commemorative speech, President Moon said, "We now have an advanced supersonic fighter jet made by our own hands. This is the eighth such achievement in the world," adding, "A new era of self-reliant defense has opened."

President Moon expressed gratitude to the Indonesian government, "Especially, I thank the Indonesian government for believing in South Korea’s capabilities and becoming a partner in joint development," and pledged, "We will continue to work together until development is completed and both countries establish mass production systems to jointly enter third-country markets."

President Moon explained, "The name ‘KF-21’ embodies the will to protect our skies in the 21st century," and said, "The advantages of a domestically produced fighter jet are countless. We can produce it anytime we need and deploy it in actual combat."

President Moon also said, "The successful development of the Korean advanced fighter jet will bring tremendous economic benefits as well as strengthening self-reliant defense," and expressed expectations, "Once full-scale mass production begins, an additional 100,000 jobs will be created, and a value-added effect worth 5.9 trillion won will be generated."