South Korea’s Air Force has announced that it has received its first production KF-21 Boramae fighter aircraft…
With the delivery, the KF-21 Boramae has entered operational service with the South Korean Air Force.
The South Korean Air Force aims to gradually induct more than 100 KF-21 fighter aircraft into its inventory by 2031.
Developed by South Korea, the KF-21 is designed to gradually replace the Air Force’s aging fleet of F-5 fighter aircraft.
Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) plans to produce 40 KF-21 fighter aircraft focused on air-to-air missions by 2028, followed by the delivery of 80 aircraft equipped with long-range air-to-ground missiles by 2032.
The KF-21 Boramae is a twin-engine supersonic fighter aircraft capable of reaching a maximum speed of Mach 1.8.
The KF-21 is equipped with an AESA radar developed by Hanwha Systems, providing air-to-air target detection and tracking capabilities as well as synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging.
The KF-21 has a ferry range of 1,550 nautical miles and a maximum payload capacity of 17,000 pounds, and can carry various weapons across 10 external hardpoints.
The platform is being developed to conduct air-to-air and air-to-ground missions with its advanced avionics and sensor systems…