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On Mar. 25, 2026 the first serial production KF-21 Boramae fighter jet was rolled out by South Korea.
The KF-21 is due to formally enter service with the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) in September 2026.
With the imminent service entry of the KF-21 Boramae stealth fighter jet, South Korea demonstrated its ability to develop a 4.5-generation fighter jet by means of domestic technology.
The aircraft was first conceptualized under the KF-X indigenous fighter program in 2001 but the program wasn’t officially formalized until 2010 because of financial and technological hurdles.
More hurdles were faced in 2015 after the US announced it will not share several core technologies with South Korea, leaving Seoul to develop indigenous core components such as AESA radar.
Since the rollout of the KF-21 prototype in April 2021, the Ministry of National Defense, ROKAF, the Agency for Defense Development, and Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) worked together to overcome numerous challenges. The first flight took place on Jul. 19, 2022 and over the course of next four years, six KF-21 prototypes underwent 955 ground tests and 1,601 flight tests.
The KF-21 completed the flight tests without a single accident, comprehensively verifying its flight stability and performance through approximately 13,000 test conditions. Notably, with the cooperation of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, South Korean Navy, and South Korea Coast Guard, the KF-21 successfully conducted air-to-air weapon over water. It also conducted high-difficulty tests, including controllability recovery in extreme attitude flight, demonstrating its combat capability as a 4.5-generation fighter.
The roll-out ceremony was attended by the President Lee Jae Myung. KAI, the main developer of the KF-21, showcased future variants for the KF-21, to include dedicated electronic attack aircraft variant, and a fully-stealth KF-21EX variant.
Once the KF-21 is deployed, ROKAF will field a state-of-the-art, indigenously developed 4.5-generation fighter, significantly strengthening its air defense capabilities and enhancing its capabilities for future air combat.
KF-21 is a twin-engine 4.5th generation fighter that will serve as a main workforce of the ROKAF alongside US-origin F-35A and F-15K fighters. Being larger than the F-35, KF-21 will be significantly more capable than the latest F-16V.
The KF-21 is aimed at replacing the ROKAF’s dated McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II and Northrop F-5 fighter jets.
As an investor in the KF-21 program and with its own defense industry contributing to manufacturing the aircraft, Indonesia continues to consider acquiring the Boramae while KAI is pushing for exports for the type.
Nevertheless, the relations between the countries had been soured by the protracted saga of Indonesia lagging payments and a reduction in its contribution to the program, with Korea’s JoongaAng Daily reporting that Indonesia will no longer be receiving the fifth prototype aircraft for local flight testing and weapon integration as originally planned.
Photo credit: Korea Defense Blog
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