Korea, Indonesia Move to Specify Payment Schedule for KF-21 Contribution

KAI President: "Expecting Indonesia as the First Export Destination for Light Armed Helicopters and Surion"

Eris Erianto, former Deputy Secretary of the Indonesian Ministry of Defense, is being interviewed by the Korean press at the JI Expo exhibition hall in Jakarta, Indonesia, on the 2nd (local time). / Jakarta (Indonesia) = Joint Press Corps of the Ministry of Defense

[Jakarta=Ministry of National Defense Joint Press Corps. Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] The payment of Indonesia's share, a co-developer of the domestically produced supersonic fighter jet 'Boramae' KF-21, is expected to gain momentum.

According to the defense industry on the 3rd (local time), Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), the manufacturer of the KF-21, is preparing negotiations to enhance the enforceability of the 'Cost Sharing Agreement' (CSA) with Indonesia.

The industry observed that this appears to be a move to specify Indonesia's annual payment amounts in detail. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) finalized the total amount of Indonesia's share at about 1.6 trillion won through working-level negotiations last November, and an industry official said KAI is preparing follow-up discussions to include when and how much will be paid in the contract. KAI believes that if possible, the follow-up negotiations should conclude by next year to facilitate smoother project progress. For KAI, if Indonesia's payment delinquency continues beyond this point, it will become difficult to provide the promised technology and prototypes in exchange for the share.

Currently, the Indonesian government, which has delayed about 800 billion won in payments, made a small payment of 9.4 billion won to DAPA on the 1st, opening the way for additional share payments.

Kang Gu-young, KAI President, who visited Indonesia to attend a local defense exhibition in Jakarta, stated that he will strive to expand cooperation with Indonesia not only in the KF-21 project but also in other fields.

President Kang said, "We expect Indonesia to become the first export country for our company's Light Armed Helicopter (LAH) and Korean Utility Helicopter Surion (KUH-1)." He added, "Due to Indonesia's geographical characteristics, there will be demand for transport helicopters as short-distance transportation means, and it is also evaluated as a potential market for emergency medical helicopters and armed helicopters for maritime terrorism response."

Eris Erianto, former Deputy Minister of Defense of Indonesia and former Secretary-General of the Defense Industry Policy Committee, met with Korean reporters and said, "Indonesia needs to foster a defense industry ecosystem to achieve self-reliant defense, and Korea is an excellent partner for this." He expressed hope that "Indonesia and Korea can seek technical cooperation in areas such as aviation and precision-guided weapons."