South Korea’s government has approved a plan to begin building 20 KF-21 fighter jets this year, half of what was originally planned, after a report last year called for slashing the homegrown fighter’s initial production volume.
The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) had sought to sign a contract this year with the jet’s manufacturer, Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd., to build 40 KF-21s as the first batch of the advanced fighter under development since 2015.
Under the newly approved plan, DAPA will sign a contract for only 20 units this year and another deal next year for an additional 20 units after further testing, such as on the jet’s air-to-air missile and active electronically scanned array radar capabilities.
The phased production seeks to address concerns raised by the feasibility study over the jet last year that argued for the need for additional tests and suggested the production cut to only 20 units, according to a DAPA official. “(We) plan to complete verification tests by June this year and sign a contract for the remaining 20 units by next February after consultations with relevant agencies,” the official told reporters.
The Defense Project Promotion Committee still approved the entire production plan for a total of 40 KF-21s, which is estimated to cost 7.92 trillion won (US$5.9 billion) and run from this year through 2028.
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