{"id":68145,"date":"2024-06-27T14:43:19","date_gmt":"2024-06-27T14:43:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2024\/06\/27\/south-korea-orders-first-batch-of-kf-21-fighters\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T01:00:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T01:00:09","slug":"south-korea-orders-first-batch-of-kf-21-fighters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/asia-pacific\/2024\/06\/27\/south-korea-orders-first-batch-of-kf-21-fighters\/","title":{"rendered":"South Korea orders first batch of KF-21 fighters"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand \u2014 Nine years after development of South Korea\u2019s KF-21 Boramae began, the government has signed a deal with Korea Aerospace Industries for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/air\/2024\/02\/02\/south-korea-to-start-mass-production-of-kf-21-fighter-jets\/\" target=\"_blank\">production of 20 fighter jets<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The order comes as KAI reports the fighter\u2019s development is currently 80% complete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Defense Acquisition Program Administration awarded KAI the 1.96 trillion won contract (U.S. $1.41 billion) for the Block 1 batch, the company announced June 25. The platforms are considered 4.5-generation aircraft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The first aircraft will be delivered by the end of 2026, and the final from this series by Aug. 31, 2027, according to KAI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cDespite many challenges and difficulties, the KF-21 system development project was able to reach mass production stably, thanks to the solid cooperation of related organizations,\u201d KAI President Kang Goo-young said in a news release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jinseok Song, who works on the firm\u2019s KF-X program management team, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/industry\/techwatch\/2021\/04\/09\/south-korea-unveils-prototype-of-homegrown-kf-x-fighter-jet\/\" target=\"_blank\">named after the initial title for the KF-21<\/a>, told Defense News last year that the company would manufacture 40 KF-21 Block I and 80 Block II aircraft. However, DAPA has initially ordered 20, per recommendations from the government-run Korea Institute for Defense Analyses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The government may order another 20 next year, after further verification of the aircraft\u2019s performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Song said production for Block II, slated for development from 2026 to 2028, will add air-to-ground capabilities and an expanded performance envelope. About 2,200 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/global\/asia-pacific\/2022\/07\/19\/south-korea-records-successful-maiden-flight-test-of-its-kf-21-fighter-jet\/\" target=\"_blank\">test sorties<\/a> are to be flown by 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">KAI has been preparing for this production contract by readying a supply chain of 600 domestic companies, building production facilities and acquiring tools. KAI aims to achieve a localization rate of 65%, noting that \u201cjust as the localization rate gradually improved with delivery of the T-50 [jet] and Surion [helicopter], it\u2019s expected the domestic production rate will increase as the aviation industry ecosystem is strengthened with mass production of the KF-21.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The KF-21 will replace South Korea\u2019s F-4 and F-5 fighters, with the former having retired this month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Additional agreements<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">DAPA also recently signed a contract with Hanwha Systems for 20 active electronically scanned array radars for 110 billion won.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And on June 25, Hanwha Aerospace announced it inked a 556 billion won contract to produce 40 General Electric F414-GE-400 engines plus spares for the first score of KF-21s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The first engine is expected to be ready by the end of 2025 and will be produced at a new factory in Changwon. With the capacity to manufacture 300 engines annually, Hanwha Aerospace broke ground for this new $30 million facility in April.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hanwha Aerospace has reportedly manufactured more than 10,000 aircraft engines over the past 45 years, 82% of which were produced under license.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis contract serves as a stepping stone for Hanwha Aerospace\u2019s plans to develop next-generation engine technologies,\u201d the company said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The firm added that it \u201cis actively pursuing research and development in sixth-generation engine technology.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Similarly, looking beyond the KF-21, KAI said it will \u201cfurther develop sixth-generation <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/unmanned\/2024\/02\/26\/south-korea-eyes-mixed-fleet-of-manned-unmanned-warplanes\/\" target=\"_blank\">manned and unmanned system technology<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The order comes as the manufacturer reports the jet&#8217;s development is currently 80% complete.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":119030,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":45,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[7,45,160,11,12,36],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3492],"class_list":["post-68145","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-air","category-asia-pacific","category-daily-news-roundup","category-global","category-industry","category-newsletters"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"ED4VIYTZZZD5PJD6BRCOPZILUM","arc_canonical_url":"\/global\/asia-pacific\/2024\/06\/27\/south-korea-orders-first-batch-of-kf-21-fighters\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented 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