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| The KF-21 Boramae fighter aircraft made in South Korea and Indonesia |
Seoul - The KF-21 Boramae fighter belonging to South Korea and Indonesia, which flew for the first time on Tuesday, July 19, 2022, showed its capabilities as the fourth generation. This is seen because the current variants carry their weapons externally.
This was what limited their stealth abilities and prevented them from being considered a 'fifth generation'. In addition, two variants will have internal weapons trains and thus qualify for fifth-generation jets.
Quoted from Military Watch Magazine, internal weapon transport is key to optimizing stealth capabilities. This is also done to reduce the radar cross section of the aircraft.
Even in its current configuration, the KF-21 offers stealth capabilities far ahead of rivals such as the Russian Su-35, French Rafale or pan-European Eurofighter. Where everything is a '4+ generation' design. This gives the KF-21 the potential to make the transition between the fourth and fifth generations.
The KF-21's engine is one of its salient flaws. Aircraft relying on the American F404 are far less powerful. This is because the use of machines is accompanied by ensuring low operating costs and maintenance requirements. This immediately reduces existing production costs.
Not only that, the KF-21 also has the potential to turn South Korea into the largest stealth fighter aircraft operator in the world outside of China and the United States.
China and the United States appear to be competing in their own leagues to produce more capable sixth-generation fighters. However, South Korea and Russia appear to be the only powers set to move to the fifth generation using native fighters.
The future may be between India and Turkey as rivals, both of which are indeed trying to make their own domestic fighter jets. According to Yonhap News, the KF-21 took off at 3:40 p.m. and landed at 16:13 (local time) for its maiden flight.
According to Aviaci Online, officials had originally planned to carry out the test in the morning, but postponed it by several hours due to weather conditions.
As is known, the KF-X (Korea Fighter eXperimental) project, developed to develop a Korean fighter aircraft was officially born in December 2015. This happened when South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) signed a fighter development contract with Korea Aerospace Industries.
Read Also: Specifications of Meteor Missile, Air-to-Air Missile Carried by South Korea's KF-21 Boramae Fighter
The first phase of the project, which is budgeted at around $6.18 billion, has Indonesia as a partner, which will cover 20% of the costs. In return, starting in 2026, the island nation will receive the technology transfer needed to produce 60 of these fighter jets locally.