Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) said on Dec. 28 that it had signed a contract with the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), South Korea's arms procurement agency, to undertake the Korean Fighter Experimental (KF-X) project, aimed at building indigenous combat planes.
KAI, the country's sole aircraft manufacturer, was named the preferred bidder for the KF-X project in March. In November, KAI and its international KF-X partner PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI), Indonesia's state-owned aerospace manufacturer, signed a preliminary contract to jointly take part in the KF-X project.
The KF-X project is designed to replace the Air Force's aging fleet of F-4 and F-5 combat aircraft with advanced domestically-produced fighter jets by 2020.
Under the preliminary contract, Indonesia will finance 20 percent of the 8-trillion-won KF-X project. The South Korean government and KAI will bear 60 percent and 20 percent of the project’s costs, respectively. The KF-X project is scheduled to be complete in June 2026 after the first test flights of homegrown prototype fighter jets, slated for 2022.
The KF-X project aims to develop six prototype fighter jets, two prototype rescue planes and training and defense logistics support systems, achieving a localization rate of 65 percent.
KAI is scheduled to sign a formal agreement with the Indonesian government in January next year. To reinforce Indonesia’s air power and aviation industry, Indonesia will shoulder 20 percent of the KF-X project’s development costs, thereby participating in the designing and production process of the KF-X project and being also entitled to technology transfer and one experimental airplane.
