Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) held a "Korean Type Fighter (KF-21) prototype release ceremony" in Sacheon, Gyeongsangnam-do, on April 9.
It has been accomplished 20 years after former President Kim Dae-jung declared the development of the Korean fighter at the Air Force Academy`s graduation ceremony.
At the event, President Moon Jae-in, Prabowo Subianto, Indonesia's defense minister, Minister of National Defense Suh Wook and Ahn Hyun-ho, KAI CEO, and other dignitaries attended.
"A new era of self-defense has opened," President Moon said in his speech. "It will be the centerpiece of our Air Force. We will actively support the aviation industry with the goal of becoming one of the world's seven biggest powers in aviation in the 2030s."
"KF-21 is a team-building achievement and a springboard for the government, research institutes and partners," Ahn said. "Based on this, we will promote new growth projects such as news space, eco-friendly air mobility, and a system of people with and without, while upgrading industrial structure."
The releasing ceremony is meaningful that the actual body of the aircraft on the drawing is embodied and first disclosed to the public.
KAI signed a contract with the Defense Acquisition Program Administration in December 2015 to develop a Korean fighter system. After finishing basic design (PDR) in 2018, it started processing parts in February 2019 and passed CDR in September of that year.
After the release ceremony of the prototype, it will prepare for the initial flight that will be carried out next year.
If KF-21 development is completed after ground and flight tests by June 2026, Korea will become the world's eighth supersonic fighter development country.
The flag was named "KF-21 Boramae." The Air Force decided that "KF-21" has its own name, "Boramae," which is commonly used as a symbol of the Air Force. It was chosen through a public contest for the name ahead of the release of the prototype.
The KF-21 is equipped with a twin-engine, Low Probability of Intercept (LPI) technology, with a fuselage length of 16.9 m, a width of 11.2 m, and a height of 4.7 m, larger than the F-16 and similar in size to the F-18 fighter.
Its maximum speed is Mach 1.81 (2,200 km/h), with a flying range of 2,900 km/h, and an armed payload of 7.7 tons.
It was designed with evolutionary development in mind so that it can improve its own performance with domestic fighter jets and integrate the domestically developed armed system into the aircraft.
