South Korea joins supersonic fighter club as indigenous KF-21 completes first flight test

In a key development, South Korea's indigenous KF-21 Boramae fighter jet made its first flight on Tuesday, July 19. According to reports, the development also put South Korea among the few countries to have built and used an advanced supersonic fighter. South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) stated that the fighter jet made a 33-minute roundtrip flight from an air force base in Sacheon city. It further stated that work to develop the prototype jet began in 2015 after the declaration of the development of fighter jets in 2001. 

"Our handmade fighter KF-21 got ready to fly on July 19, 2022. South Korea is also ranked 8th in the world in producing fighter jets," the DAPA stated in a Facebook post. It outlined that the jet is the first of a fleet of six KF-21 prototypes manufactured by Korea Aerospace Industries. According to DAPA, the jet is expected to conduct more than 2,000 test flights till 2026, when mass manufacturing and deployment would commence. According to reports, the country's target is to supply as many as 120 jets to the South Korean Air Force by 2030. 

About KF-21 fighter jet

Major Ahn Jun-hyun, the pilot, said that he was a bit concerned before takeoff, but claimed "everything went smoothly and I flew the entire flight route as planned," CNN reported. Notably, the KF-21 is anticipated to be equipped with a variety of air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles, as well as air-launched cruise missiles. The DAPA stated that there will be single and two-seat versions of the twin-engine fighter jet. During its first test flight, the jet reached speeds of almost 400 kilometres per hour while armed with four dummy Meteor air-to-air missiles and an infrared search and track system. 

South Korean President terms test flight a 'magnificent accomplishment'

According to South Korean President Yoon Seok-youl, the test flight was a "magnificent accomplishment in national defence independence." According to the CNN report, Seoul owns 80% of the shares in the KF-21, which is a joint project between South Korea and Indonesia. Even though just 65% of the KF-21's components are made in South Korea, the aircraft's first flight is being considered a notable accomplishment for a nation with little history of aircraft production. Only the United States, China, Russia France, Japan, Sweden, and a European alliance of the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany and Spain have developed and flown a sophisticated supersonic fighter jet.

Image: Facebook/@DAPA