S.Korea to mass-produce homegrown fighter jet in 2024

South Korea is set to start mass production of the KF-21, its homegrown supersonic fighter jet, this year for expected deployment of the warplane for the Air Force in 2026, said the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA).

The country’s arms procurement agency has been conducting tests to check the operations and avionics equipment of the KF-21 in extreme environments such as heavy rain, as well as exceptionally hot and cold temperatures.

The tests are required for the fighter jet’s mass production and the agency is scheduled to conclude them next month. 

“We will keep proving the KF-21’s performance through various flight assessments such as aerial refueling and air-to-air missile launch tests,” said DAPA Minister Eom Donghwan.

Six prototypes of the KF-21, manufactured by the country’s sole military aircraft maker Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd. (KAI), completed flights while succeeding in several missions such as supersonic flights and air-to-air arms separations, which provisionally proved the jet suitable for combat.

Write to Dong-Hyun Kim at 3code@hankyung.com
 

Jongwoo Cheon edited this article.