[3rd Report] KF-21 Successfully Completes First 30-Minute Flight

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] The Korean fighter jet (KF-21) ‘Boramae’ successfully completed its maiden flight on the 19th. On that day, the KF-21 prototype took off around 3:40 PM and landed around 4:13 PM.

With the success of the first flight, South Korea became the 8th country in the world to develop a supersonic fighter jet, taking flight 21 years and 4 months after the declaration of the KF-X project. It has been 21 years and 4 months since the KF-X project was announced.

The first flight was piloted by Major Ahn Jun-hyun (Air Force Academy Class 54) of the Air Force 52nd Test and Evaluation Squadron.

The KF-21 project has a total budget of approximately 8.8 trillion won, making it the “largest power enhancement project since the era of Dangun.” The KF-21 began in August 2001 when President Kim Dae-jung declared the development of a domestically produced fighter jet by 2015 as part of the Korean Fighter eXperimental (KF-X) project.

The military plans to conduct about 2,000 sorties (flight missions) of test flights by 2026 to verify flight performance and handling characteristics. Even during the test flights, ground tests will continue to detect and correct minor errors in the equipment installed on the KF-21 to maximize performance. Subsequently, the jet is expected to receive a ‘provisional combat suitability’ certification in the latter half of next year, a ‘final combat suitability’ certification in 2026, and continue additional weapons testing until 2028. The Air Force plans to introduce a total of 120 units by 2032, prioritizing the replacement of aging fighters such as the F-4 and F-5, once the KF-21 development is completed around 2026.

The project duration varies depending on the block version of the fighter jet. System development (Block I) is scheduled from 2015 to 2026, with Indonesia and South Korea jointly investing 8.1 trillion won in development. Subsequently, additional weapons testing (Block II), pursued solely by South Korea, will take place from 2026 to 2028 with an investment of 700 billion won.