Korea KF-X/ IF-X (KF-21) program

[Umigami]

When will Block 3 available to international market?
If Korean can't deliver it fast, China will dominate that "5th gen for non US allies / partners" with J35A for sure.

 

[Nilgiri]

When will Block 3 available to international market?
If Korean can't deliver it fast, China will dominate that "5th gen for non US allies / partners" with J35A for sure.

There's a plan from the US to make sure PRC and its allies lean into this stuff very hard and then undercut it later after they have over-committed....with whats on hand already regarding signals analysis, AI and networking....and making sure no repeat story of "easy IP for reverse engineering" to PRC w.r.t the critical RnD databases and processes regarding this (air gapping and removal of PRC "researchers in US unis etc" now and going forward) from the relative 1980 - 2015 bonhomie period signalled by CCP.

There is no such thing as unassailable superweapon. The very reason after all the hue and cry about anti-carrier ballistics....China forks out considerable resource into its CBGs too.

 

[urban mine]

KF-21 to "Achieve 1,000 Sorties"

With the achievement of 1,000 Sorties, it is meaningful that about half of the total 2,000 Sorties planned for System Development flight tests have been completed and the safety of the aircraft has been confirmed by achieving an accident-free flight record.

 

[Umigami]

What happen there mate ?

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1863945241889222814

 

[hugh]

what would be the earliest year for KF-21's export if it had foreign costumers?

 

[urban mine]

[2025 신년기획] 천번의 시험 비행 … KF-21 진짜가 온다 - 매일경제

KAI '양산 1호기' 제작 현장 르포날개, 80겹 탄소섬유로 압착중앙 동체와 조립작업 돌입시제機 10년 시행착오 딛고2026년 9월 공군 인도 예정'KF-21' 양산 1호기 조립현장 언론 첫 공개

m.mk.co.kr

KAI released a photo of the first production KF-21 in the process of joining the center fuselage and main wings to the press.

 

[urban mine]

Top Air Force commander conducts 1st test flight of KF-21 fighter | Yonhap News Agency

SEOUL, Feb. 19 (Yonhap) -- Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Lee Young-su commanded his first ...

en.yna.co.kr

Top Air Force commander conducts 1st test flight of KF-21 fighter​

SEOUL, Feb. 19 (Yonhap) -- Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Lee Young-su commanded his first test flight of the KF-21 fighter jet Wednesday, officials said, as the armed service is set to receive the first batch of the homegrown fighter aircraft next year.

For Wednesday's flight test, Lee boarded the KF-21 at an air base in Sacheon, 291 kilometers south of Seoul, and flew at a speed of 1,000 kilometers per hour at an altitude of 4,500 meters over waters off the country's southern coast, according to the Air Force.

The KF-16, the Air Force's mainstay fighter, accompanied the KF-21, in an attempt to verify tactical operations capabilities with other aircraft, it added.

South Korea has been seeking to develop a homegrown advanced supersonic fighter since 2015 to replace its aging fleet of U.S.-made jets, including the F-5.

Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd., the jet's manufacturer, began production of the aircraft in July, with an aim to deliver the new fighter jet to frontline air bases starting in 2026.

 

[urban mine]