President Moon Jae-in delivers his commemorative speech at a ceremony to roll out KF-21 Boramae, the country's first homegrown fighter jet, at a plant of technology at Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) headquarters in Sacheon, Gyeongsangnam-do, on April 9. (Photo: KAI)

A prototype of the country's first homegrown fighter jet was rolled out at a ceremony the Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) headquarters in Sacheon, Gyeongsangnam-do, on April 9.

The unveiling of KF-21 Boramae came 20 years after former president Kim Dae-jung announced the development of a homegrown jet fighter at a Korea Air Force Academy commencement ceremony in March 2001.

Among those on hand at the ceremony were President Moon Jae-in, Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto, Minister Suh Wook of the Korean Ministry of National Defense, Minister Kang Eun-ho of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) and CEO Ahn Hyun-ho of Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI).

In his commemorative speech, President Moon said a new era of independent national defense capability has dawned, and it is a historic moment for the development of Korea’s aerospace industry.

KF-21s will play a pivotal role in the Korean Air Force, and the Korean government plans to provide full support to the aerospace industry, with the goal of growing into a global top seven power in the industry.

KAI CEO Ahn said KF-21 is the product of teamwork among the government, research institutes and cooperative companies. Ahn said KAI will implement new growth engine projects based on this achievement and create quality jobs by upgrading its industrial structure.

F-4s and F-5s, introduced from the United States a few decades ago, are still in service in the Korean Air Force. The fighters, aged but still being used in large numbers, account for the bulk of the Air Force’s power.

Former president Kim Dae-jung stressed a need for the development of a homegrown fighter jet at a Korea Air Force Academy commencement ceremony in March 2001.

President Kim’s remarks led to the development of KF-21. It was in November 2002 that a Joint Chiefs of Staff meeting decided on a long-term plan for new fighters.

DASA struck a deal on the project with KAI in December 2015. Five years later, in September 2020, KAI began to assemble a KF-21 prototype at its plant in Sacheon. The project will cost 8.8 trillion won between 2015 and 2028.

Military craft developed for the first time in Korea already includes the T-50, an advanced jet trainer, and light combat aircraft, and the FA-50, a light combat aircraft and fighter developed based on the former. They were jointly developed by KAI and Lockheed Martin Corp.

That means the KF-21 is the nation’s first truly homegrown fighter jet. If the development of KF-21 is complete after undergoing land and flying tests until June 2026, Korea is predicted to be the eighth country to develop a supersonic jet fighter with its own technology.

The KF-21 prototype is named after “Boramae,” a symbol of the Korean Air Force, chosen in a public contest. K-21 connotates the core power needed to make a leap forward as an advanced aerospace force and homegrown jet fighter as a guardian of the Korean Peninsula in the 21st century.

K-21s will be a next-generation jet fighter charged with the protection of the air territory in future warfare by replacing old fighters used by the Korean Air Force. K-21s will be mass produced and delivered to the Korean Air Force.

The twin engine KF-21 employs lower stealth technologies. The jet fighter measures 16.9 meters in fuselage length, 11.2 meters in width and 4.7 meters in height. It is bigger than F-16 and smaller than F-18. It is capable of flying at the highest speed of 1.81 Mach (2,200 km per hour) and cruising 2,900 km. Its armed load is 7.7 tons.

KF-21 is designed so that its performances can be improved as a homegrown jet fighter, and it can be evolved and integrated with homegrown arsenal systems.

The fighter can be loaded with long-range air-to-land guided missiles, now in development A stable supply of parts, to be possible through localization, is expected to reduce maintenance costs and raise the operational rate.

KAI is carrying the project in an efficient and economical fashion based on the development of KF 21, 65 percent of whose technologies are localized in terms of mass producing a first KF-21.

KAI is now localizing 85 kinds of technologies, active electronically scanned array, electro-optical targeting pod, infra-red search and track, and electronic warfare suite.

CEO Ahn Hyun-ho of Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) revealed a plan to make KAI a global top 7 aerospace company by raising annual revenues to 10 trillion won by 2030. He made the remarks at a press conference at COEX in southern Seoul on April 4.