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Six South Korean KF-16 Prototypes To Fly By 2021

Zarvan

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South Korean Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) announced Thursday that six prototypes of KF-16 indigenous fighter jet would be ready by 2021.

DAPA in a commencement meeting in the headquarters of contractor Korea Aerospace Industries in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province for the fighter jet project held Thursday said that South Korea would be able to introduce the fighter in mid-2020s.

As per the plan, DAPA will complete the design of aircraft in 2019, unveil six units of the prototype KF-16-class warplane starting 2021 and conduct flight tests until 2026. A total of 120 planes will then be assembled by 2032, Korea Herald reported citing DAPA head Chang Myoung-jin as saying.

DAPA announced the launch of projects to introduce indigenous fighter jets in the mid-2020s, kick-starting the journey that has spawned much controversy following the US rejection to transfer key technologies.

Some 200 government and industry officials as well as military scientists also from partner countries of the US and Indonesia reviewed the program.

“We will make utmost efforts to deploy in time superb fighter jets that our Air Force needs and people can be proud of,” Chang said.

DAPA also aims to increase the ratio of homegrown components to 65 percent in terms of prices by localizing some 90 items including active electronically scanned array radar and electro-optical targeting pods. The two systems are among the four technologies that Seoul has failed to secure from U.S. defense firm Lockheed Martin Corp. due to Washington’s veto, darkening the outlook for the initiative’s success.

Six South Korean KF-16 Prototypes To Fly By 2021
 
The design is sexier than any of current fifth generation including f22
 
@Zarvan

You need to stop posting news from misleading reporting

It is KFX/IFX that they are talking,


Korea launches indigenous fighter project
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An artist's concept of KF-X fighter

6 prototypes will be produced by 2021

By Jun Ji-hye

Korea officially kicked off a project to develop indigenous high-tech fighter jets, Thursday, with the goal of producing six prototypes in 2021 and completing development by 2026.

Officials from all entities involved held their first meeting at the headquarters of Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), the main contractor, in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province.

They are KAI, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), the U.S. defense giant Lockheed Martin, the Indonesian Defense Ministry and Indonesia's state-run defense firm PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI).

The government plans to spend 8.5 trillion won in the development program, and an additional 10 trillion won to produce 120 jets by 2032 to replace the Air Force's aging fleet of F-4s and F-5s.

DAPA said the nation will domestically develop some 90 items necessary to the development, including the active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar and electronic optics targeting pod (EOTGP), which the U.S. government earlier refused to hand over to Korea for security reasons.

"Our goal is to localize 65 percent of the components for the aircraft," DAPA said in a release.

The project will also proceed with the help of Lockheed Martin which will transfer 21 technologies used in the F-35 stealth fighter. In early December, the U.S. government approved the transfer of the technologies in a "large frame," according to DAPA.

For its part, the Indonesian government will invest some 1.6 trillion won in the project, and its defense firm will participate in the process of design and component production. The country will also be given one prototype and technology data afterward.

But concerns still remain over the possibility that the U.S. might once again refuse to approve the handover of some of the technologies requested by Seoul, as negotiations between DAPA and Lockheed officials are still ongoing to list the details, as hundreds of technical items are part of them.

DAPA head Chang Myoung-jin earlier said that negotiations will continue for the next two to three years.

In addition, some critics are still skeptical about whether the nation will be able to domestically develop the AESA radar and other integral technologies by the target deadline.

As part of efforts to manage such risks involving the multi-million-dollar project, the National Assembly established a subcommittee comprised of professors and experts in the aerospace field to consistently monitor the expenses and schedule of the development process, according to DAPA.

It said in a release, "We will dispatch professional manpower comprised of DAPA and Air Force officials to KAI headquarters from the end of this month in an effort to maximize oversight."

KAI President and CEO Ha Sung-yong said, "We will concentrate all our capacity to succeed in the KF-X project and contribute to the nation's economy."

Before its official kickoff, the program had suffered a severe crisis after the U.S. government refused in April to allow Lockheed to hand over four core technologies ― the AESA radar, the EOTGP, infrared search and radio frequency (RF) jammer and infrared search and tracking (IRST).

A transfer of a total of 25 technologies was included in an offset deal with Lockheed Martin in return for Korea's purchase of 40 F-35s, signed in September of 2014.

Amid growing skepticism about the feasibility of the KF-X program at the time, DAPA said that the nation could domestically develop them and the U.S. government had promised to approve the transfer of the other 21 technologies.


Follow Jun Ji-hye on Twitter @TheKopJihye



Source: KAI, Indonesia Sign Deal to Cooperate on KF-X Fighter Jet | Page 2

KFX/IFX

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