Contract Scale Approximately 110 Billion Won, KF-21 Equipped from August 2025
An AESA radar for aircraft developed purely with domestic technology will be put into operation. The AESA radar, known as the eyes of fighter jets, is a state-of-the-art radar that simultaneously performs various missions such as detecting and tracking air, ground, and sea targets. It is considered a key equipment that determines the survival of fighter jets and the outcome of battles in modern aerial warfare.
Hanwha Systems announced on the 25th that it has signed the first mass production contract for the AESA radar to be mounted on the Korean Fighter (KF-21) with the Defense Acquisition Program Administration. The contract is worth approximately 110 billion KRW, and the radar is scheduled to be installed on the KF-21 starting from the end of August 2025.
The KF-21 AESA radar mass production project is divided into initial production and subsequent production phases. According to the signed contract, Hanwha Systems plans to start with the initial production of 20 units and then steadily supply AESA radars through subsequent production. Compared to the mechanical radars installed on existing fighter jets, it can detect a wider area and engage multiple air and ground targets simultaneously.
After the United States refused to transfer core fighter jet technology in 2015, there were widespread concerns that developing AESA radar solely with domestic technology would be impossible. However, Hanwha Systems successfully delivered the first prototype in 2020, just four years after starting development, proving South Korea’s radar technology capabilities to the world.
Since then, the performance of the aircraft AESA radar has been verified through more than 200 sorties of flight tests domestically and internationally, and it received a ‘provisional combat suitability’ rating, finally leading to the start of the first mass production.
Park Hyuk, Head of the Surveillance and Reconnaissance Division at Hanwha Systems, said, “Hanwha Systems is the only domestic company that develops, supplies, and even exports aircraft AESA radars,” adding, “We will actively target the global market through our proven track record of operational deployment of various aircraft AESA radars applicable from mid-sized fighters to light fighters and even smaller unmanned aerial vehicles.”
Meanwhile, Hanwha Systems announced the first export of domestically produced AESA radar by signing an antenna supply contract for the ‘light attack aircraft AESA radar’ with Leonardo, a leading European aerospace and defense company, in May. The company is also developing an AESA radar for unmanned aerial vehicles, applying air-cooling technology to aircraft AESA radar for the first time in Korea.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
