KF-21 passes provisional combat suitability evaluation

A prototype KF-21 fighter jet takes part in a test flight at the Air Force's 3rd Flying Training Wing in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang, on March 28. [DAPA]

Korea's domestically developed KF-21 fighter jet passed a provisional combat suitability evaluation earlier this week, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) announced Tuesday.

This marks a major milestone over 20 years into development, clearing a key procedural step ahead of entering mass production next year.

The DAPA said the evaluation in cooperation with the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), Defense Ministry and Air Force was based on numerous flight and ground tests over the past two years evaluating 260 items including flight speed and combat operational range.

The provisional combat suitability evaluation procedure enables weapons developers to secure mass-production budgets, taking into consideration the long time it takes from the research and development process to initial production.

The DAPA said that the evaluation lays the grounds for the KF-21s to enter the initial mass-production process in 2024.

Initially, only a small number of jets will be produced.

This comes some 23 years after then-President Kim Dae-jung first proposed at a graduation ceremony of the Korean Air Force Academy in August 2001 to develop state-of-the-art indigenous combat aircraft by 2015.

The KF-21, also known as the Boramae, is a 4.5th-generation fighter developed by Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), the country's sole aircraft maker, with funding from Korea and Indonesia. The 8.8 trillion-won project ($6.8 billion) to build Korea's first domestically developed advanced fighter jet began in 2015, with DAPA signing a contract with the KAI, to replace the country's aging F-4 and F-5 jets.

The first KF-21 prototype was revealed in April 2021 and made its maiden test flight in July 2022.

So far, more than 200 test flights have been made to verify the fighter's capabilities, including supersonic speeds, night flight and an advanced active electronically scanned array radar system.

The homegrown fighter jets are expected to be delivered to the Air Force after completing more than 2,000 test flights and undergoing a final combat suitability evaluation by 2026. Some 120 KF-21s are expected to be deployed by 2032.

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]