Watch: Indonesian-South Korean KF-21 Boramae Fighter Jet Makes First Flight
Subscribe
The KF-21 Boramae, jointly produced by South Korea and Indonesia, took to the skies for the first time on Tuesday. Superficially based on Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the Boramae isn’t quite its equal in terms of stealth capabilities, but boasts some impressive stats nonetheless.
The KF-21 prototype aircraft lifted off for the first time at 3:40 p.m. local time on Tuesday from an air force base near the headquarters of its manufacturer, Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province.
According to Defense News, the jet flew for 30 minutes, reaching a speed of 400 kilometers per hour as its pilot, Maj. Junhyeon Ahn of the Air Force Test and Evaluation Unit, checked the aircraft’s basic functions.
First flight KF-21 Boromae
— HIRA ONE (@HHIRA_ONE) July 19, 2022
🇰🇷 pic.twitter.com/UEJ1xM7JJL
#BREAKING 🇰🇷🇮🇩 KF21 first Flight was successfully carried out
— Húrin (@intel1osint100) July 19, 2022
pic.twitter.com/7899RG8Zlx
Photos show the aircraft carrying mock-ups of four METEOR long-range air-to-air missiles, hinting it will be the first aircraft in Asia to field the advanced weapon. It is also expected to carry South Korea’s new Cheon Ryong air-launched cruise missile (ALCM).
🇰🇷 South Korean KF-21 Boramae has flown for the first time today pic.twitter.com/ZhDVBuz4a0
— Fighterman_FFRC (@Fighterman_FFRC) July 19, 2022
That Boramae carries its weapons on external hardpoints instead of inside an internal weapons bay is a major hint that, while superficially similar to the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the jet will not aim for the ultra-low radar visibility that is part of the F-35’s trademark stealth capability.
The jet is described by South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration as a "4.5 generation fighter jet,” meaning fighters that sport advanced technologies setting them apart from previous jets, but lack the defining attributes of stealth, advanced sensor fusion, and supercruise characteristic of fifth-generation fighters. That puts Boramae on-par with the US Navy’s F/A-18 Super Hornet, the Eurofighter Typhoon, and Russia’s Su-35.
While the jet was built and is being tested in South Korea, Indonesia provided 20% of the financing for its production. When it was unveiled in April 2021, then-South Korean President Moon Jae-in said the country would have 40 combat-ready jets by 2028, with as many as 120 ready by 2032. It is expected to have 2000 test flights done by 2026, after which it will enter mass production, assuming there are no major problems requiring a redesign or further testing.
