KAI (Korean Aerospace Intl.) has unveiled a first mock-up of the 5th generation KF-X fighter aircraft developed with junior partner Indonesia at the ADEX trade fair in Seoul. With a maximum take-off weight of 25.6 tons and a payload of 7.7 tons, the aircraft is expected to have a range of up to 2,900 kilometers.
The design has ten internal and external weapon stations, including a 20mm M61 Vulcan cannon, and Diehl’s IRIS-T and the MBDA Meteor are to be integrated. Hanwha Defence is to manufacture the GE414 engines under license. An AESA radar with 1,080 transmitter/receiver modules, with a range of 110 kilometers, is also to come from the same supplier. The cockpit is arranged around a single, large touchscreen display or a sidestick layout (as in the F-16).
114 engineers are working on the KF-X at the KAI factory in Saechon. They are due to present a prototype in early 2021, the first flight is scheduled for 2022 and series production of around 350 units is planned from 2026. This will replace F-4 and F-5s in the RoKAF. The financial plan for the estimated volume of 7.5 billion euros is 60 percent funded by the Korean government, 20 percent by KAI and 20 percent by Indonesia. There, the fighter is called IF-X, but according to Jane’s, Jakarta is slightly behind with its contributions by around 25 million euros.
