[Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club] Fighter Jets Without Parts... What Are the Solutions?

On the 1st, to commemorate Armed Forces Day, F-4 (Phantom) jets are flying in formation at the 71st Armed Forces Day event held at Daegu Air Force Base (11th Fighter Wing). / Daegu = Photo by Joint Press Corps

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] On the 11th, an Air Force F-5E fighter jet crashed, highlighting the urgent need to replace aging fighter jets. In particular, the F-4 fighter jets scheduled for retirement are in a dire state with extremely low operational rates due to a lack of spare parts.

According to military authorities, under the Ministry of National Defense directives, the operational rate of fighter jets owned by the Air Force must exceed 75%. However, in the first half of last year, the operational rates of air mobility aircraft such as the C-130 and CN-235 were only 72%.

The operational rate of the F-4, introduced in 1977, is even more serious. Until the mass production of the KF-21 begins in earnest in the mid-2020s, it is highly likely that the F-4 will remain in frontline service, making the power gap severe. The operational rate of the F-4 was 74% (2018), but dropped to 72% (2019), and then plummeted to 69% (2020, 2021).

The Air Force believes the decline in the F-4’s operational rate is due to the deterioration of parts performance and difficulties in parts supply. Currently, 27 parts of the F-4 have been discontinued. This is why there were 10 cases last year where parts from other aircraft were used, known as cross-type exclusive use.

In the case of the recently crashed F-5 fighter jet, 14 parts have been discontinued. Notably, for the fighter jet involved in this crash, after takeoff and during ascent, the left and right engine fire warning lights turned on, and the aircraft rapidly descended. The pilot attempted emergency ejection twice by shouting ‘Eject,’ but failed. Some speculate that due to aging parts, the fighter jet went into a rapid descent making the aircraft inoperable, and the pilot delayed the emergency ejection to steer the nose toward a hillside to prevent crashing into residential areas.

Some have proposed leasing fighter jets from allied countries. In 2018, there was an attempt to lease the U.S. F-15 from Taiwan, and in 2020, discussions were held with the Indian Navy about leasing the U.S. Navy’s F-18 E/F Super Hornet.