[비즈한국] The KF-21 Boramae fighter jet, which was rolled out on March 25th, successfully completed its first flight on April 15th. This milestone was achieved just 22 days after the rollout ceremony, a result that can be considered unparalleled when compared to international precedents. While Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), and the Air Force reportedly celebrated the first flight quietly without a large event, this achievement is expected to garner significant attention from potential overseas customers as another accomplishment of the KF-21 development project, which is proceeding at an unprecedented speed and schedule.
According to reports, the first KF-21 production unit took off from the 3rd Flying Training Wing in Sacheon on April 15th and successfully conducted its initial flight for a set period. Following the rollout ceremony on March 25th, no specific details had been announced other than its planned delivery to the Air Force by the end of the year. It appears that no public commemorative event was held due to the extremely short interval between the rollout and the first flight.
The fact that it took only 22 days from the rollout to the first flight is another achievement that demonstrates the technical maturity of the KF-21, much like the 1,600 accident-free test flights completed successfully over the past three years. This is because it represents an "unrivaled speed" that has no comparison among fighter jet deployment schedules over the last 30 years.
For example, the F-22 Raptor, a 5th-generation fighter still hailed as the world's best, flew in September 1997, five months after the rollout of its EMD (Engineering and Manufacturing Development) unit, and the actual production unit delivered to the Air Force did not appear until 2002. While it was referred to as five months, it essentially required about five years of validation time.
The F-35A also took 10 months from the rollout of its initial production unit, AA-1, to its first flight, and in the case of the Eurofighter Typhoon, delays in parts delivery and assembly issues due to international joint development meant it took over 18 months from final assembly to the first flight.
Furthermore, in the case of our competitor, Sweden's JAS-39 Gripen E, the first production unit rolled out on May 18, 2016, but its first flight was delayed for over a year due to software certification issues.
Among recent fighter jets, the one most similar to the KF-21's "22-day record" is France's Rafale. The B301, the first production model for the French Air Force, was unveiled in September 1998 and flew within about three months, marking a very rapid transition from rollout to flight.
However, while the KF-21 conducted flight tests with prototypes for three years, the Rafale had been undergoing flight tests for over a decade with four prototypes—A, B, C, and M—since 1986. This highlights how mature the KF-21's development and production schedule is and how precisely it has adhered to its timeline.
The KF-21 Block 1 is expected to be officially delivered in the second half of the year following various evaluation tests and acceptance flights. By December 2028, 'Block 2', which includes air-to-ground capabilities, will be developed. Block 2 is expected to be equipped with not only American-made JDAM and SDB guided bombs but also South Korean KGGB guided bombs and the long-range air-to-surface missile (KALCM). Depending on the outcome of export negotiations with the Middle East, it is also expected that the 'Al Tariq' guided bomb from the UAE's Edge Group will be integrated.