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

[urban mine]

More detailed flight videos.

 

[Spitfire9]

UAE seems to be moving in the direction of selecting KF-21 as its next fighter.

UAE to ‘comprehensively co-operate' with South Korea on KF-21 fighter

The commander of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Air Force and Air Defence (AFAD) signed a letter of intent covering “comprehensive co-operation” on South Korea's...

www.janes.com

 

[urban mine]

UAE seems to be moving in the direction of selecting KF-21 as its next fighter.

UAE to ‘comprehensively co-operate' with South Korea on KF-21 fighter

The commander of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Air Force and Air Defence (AFAD) signed a letter of intent covering “comprehensive co-operation” on South Korea's...

www.janes.com

Well, it's just an MOU. As I wrote in the Foreign Defense Cooperation thread, it's all about things like UAE participation in exercises involving KF-21, or Korean KF-21 participating in exercises like Desert Eagle in the UAE. Any talk of the UAE considering the KF-21 as a next-generation fighter is premature. Or maybe it's just wishful thinking on the part of the Korean government.

 

[Yasar_TR]

Unless there is an operational F47 that can replace F22, the Raptor is the top fighter jet in my book. It has high LO characteristics and is a true monster that still many 5th gen manufacturers take as a point of reference. If US would take the leap and start upgrading its avionics, radar and sensors to more current levels, it is going to stay as the reference aircraft for many years to come.

As a fighter jet, F35 has many deficiencies and faults that makes it a bit of an odd ball. Yes, as a stealth jet, advanced sensors and electronics, it has unbelievable prowess. But as a jet fighter with numerous munitions, it is not that great. Especially when you look at the downtime the US airforce has to contend with. As soon as you start placing weapons on its pylons, you have lost your edge as LO plane. That is why RAF sees it as complementary to the Typhoons. A good plane like Typhoon has acceptable degree of low observability and a very good kinematics that can give a run for its money for a plane like Raptor.

KAI's Boramae, is aiming to be a reasonably good LO plane, presumably better RCA than Typhoon with similar degree of high kinematics, so that it can be a bridge between F35 and a high end true jet fighter. As it is produced in house, Korea can put up with any of its adverse idiosyncrasies, if there were any, until they are ironed out. Not like having to put up with a US supplied F35, where the engine may pack up or it needs its RAM paint replenished after each flight.

It is a no brainer to have your own fighter where you can control everything and put up with its high cost if need be. You can manufacture it in dozens and not lose sleep over it. Until a new version is produced with Internal payload capabilities, where there are already provisions for, and a stealthy indigenous engine, Boramae can be the work horse of Korean Airforce. Well done to the Korean engineers.

So I can understand UAE’s interest if the news are true!

 

[urban mine]

Unless there is an operational F47 that can replace F22, the Raptor is the top fighter jet in my book. It has high LO characteristics and is a true monster that still many 5th gen manufacturers take as a point of reference. If US would take the leap and start upgrading its avionics, radar and sensors to more current levels, it is going to stay as the reference aircraft for many years to come.

As a fighter jet, F35 has many deficiencies and faults that makes it a bit of an odd ball. Yes, as a stealth jet, advanced sensors and electronics, it has unbelievable prowess. But as a jet fighter with numerous munitions, it is not that great. Especially when you look at the downtime the US airforce has to contend with. As soon as you start placing weapons on its pylons, you have lost your edge as LO plane. That is why RAF sees it as complementary to the Typhoons. A good plane like Typhoon has acceptable degree of low observability and a very good kinematics that can give a run for its money for a plane like Raptor.

KAI's Boramae, is aiming to be a reasonably good LO plane, presumably better RCA than Typhoon with similar degree of high kinematics, so that it can be a bridge between F35 and a high end true jet fighter. As it is produced in house, Korea can put up with any of its adverse idiosyncrasies, if there were any, until they are ironed out. Not like having to put up with a US supplied F35, where the engine may pack up or it needs its RAM paint replenished after each flight.

It is a no brainer to have your own fighter where you can control everything and put up with its high cost if need be. You can manufacture it in dozens and not lose sleep over it. Until a new version is produced with Internal payload capabilities, where there are already provisions for, and a stealthy indigenous engine, Boramae can be the work horse of Korean Airforce. Well done to the Korean engineers.

So I can understand UAE’s interest if the news are true!

That's a pretty accurate assessment. In South Korea's North Korea strategy (South Korea only officially recognizes North Korea as an enemy), the F-35 is a crucial link in the kill chain, and the KF-21 cannot replace it. As soon as pre-war detection assets (such as South Korean and U.S. satellites, reconnaissance aircraft, or other reconnaissance tools) detect signs of a North Korean nuclear missile launch, the F-35 must enter North Korean airspace to eliminate these high-risk targets, and the KF-21, with the help of the F-35's advanced sensors, will be able to counter and eliminate LO air threats from hostile nations. In addition, for CAP, the high operating cost of the F-35 makes it difficult for it to be deployed every time. For this purpose, 4.5-generation aircraft such as the KF-21, which operates at a lower cost, are needed, and the KF-21 is needed in mission situations where the Korean F-35 cannot be deployed. For example, South Korea's F-35 does not have an air-to-ship missile and cannot be used for this mission, but the KF-21 has a hypersonic air-to-ship missile being developed for this purpose, which could be used in the future to strike high-value maritime targets in hostile countries.

This is a photo from Freedom Flag 25-1, a joint U.S.-ROK air exercise. You can see the word 제공 on the front fuselage of the KF-5, which means air superiority in Korean, and while that may have been true when it was introduced, the KF-5 is woefully inadequate for this role on the Korean Peninsula. Many fear that valuable pilots will lose their lives to these older airplanes. The KF-21 is being developed to replace these F-5s, and that alone is of great value.