KF-21: South Korea’s Weapon Against North Korea’s Provocations – Part 1

The KF-21 (Boramae), the first domestic fighter jet, is the largest weapons project since Dangun, with a total project cost of $13.7 billion. The KF-21, also known as the Korean Fighter (KF-X) project, effectively started in August 2001 when President Kim Dae Jung declared that he would develop a domestic fighter jet by 2015.

The KF-21 can freely develop and equip various domestic weapons, such as air-to-air missiles, which will undoubtedly enhance the stature of our Air Force as the first domestic fighter jet.

The so-called KF-X project is about a medium-grade fighter with performance superior to the KF-16. Although it is a 4th-generation fighter, it has some 5th-generation stealth capabilities, making it rated as a 4.5-generation fighter. Its exterior is specially made in a stealth shape to minimize radar reflection, similar to the world’s most powerful stealth fighter, the US F-22 Raptor. It is sometimes referred to as the “Baby Raptor.”

With a length of 16.9m and a height of 4.7m, it is larger than the US F-16 and F-35 stealth fighters but smaller than the F-15 and F-22. Its maximum payload is 17,000 lbs, its top speed is Mach 1.81, and its range extends to 1,800 miles. By 2026, $6.18 billion will be invested in the development of “Block 1,” which focuses on air-to-air combat capabilities, and an additional $534 million will be invested in the “Block 2” additional armament test, which the Korean military is pushing for alone from 2026 to 2028. The total project cost, including the production cost of 120 aircraft, will amount to $13.7 billion, making it the “largest defense enhancement project since Dangun.”

Part 2…
Part 3…