South Korea has formally unveiled the first series-produced KF-21 Boramae fighter jet within a few years of the first flight. Meanwhile, other parallel fighter initiatives, such as Turkey’s KAAN and India’s AMCA, remain works in progress.
Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) rolled out the first production KF-21 ‘Boramae’ 4.5-generation fighter aircraft on March 25, 2026. The aircraft was presented at KAI’s production facility at Sacheon, South Gyeongsang province, with President Lee Jae Myung in attendance.
The rollout has been described as the culmination of a 25-year development program and the beginning of a new chapter for the country’s defence industry.
“The fighter jet standing proudly before you embodies the long-cherished aspiration for self-reliant national defence that we have pursued for over half a century,” President Lee reportedly said in his speech.
Notably, the KF-21 traces its origins to 2001, when former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung publicly proposed developing a homegrown combat fighter. However, the program formally took off around 2016 with the launch of the system development phase.
At the time, South Korea secured about 87% of the required technologies for the aircraft, along with critical technology transfers from the United States.
KAI unveiled the first prototype of the KF-21 in 2021, and by 2022, it had taken its maiden flight, marking another milestone in the program.
In a remarkable feat, the first series-produced aircraft rolled out less than 5 years after the prototype’s first flight, demonstrating an unparalleled pace of development.
The KF-21 is a twin-seater 4.5-generation combat aircraft. It was designed by the KAI to bridge the gap between fourth- and fifth-generation fighters, offering advanced capabilities at a lower cost than platforms like the F-35. The program was launched as a South Korea-Indonesia partnership, with Jakarta holding a 20% stake, which has since been significantly reduced due to Jakarta’s financial constraints.
The KF-21 is expected to become the mainstay of the Republic of Korea Air Force (RoKAF) and improve the country’s three-axis defence system, which is aimed at countering potential threats from North Korea.
Speaking at the latest rollout ceremony, the South Korean President said the government will build on the KF-21’s performance as a “solid foundation” while increasing investment in relevant industries and bolstering collaboration with partner nations, in line with the country’s goal of ranking among the world’s top four defence-industrial powers.
“South Korea has finally secured weapons to protect peace with its own technology, not only on land and sea but also in the air,” he added.
As previously noted by the EurAsian Times, South Korea has emerged as a major Asian defence exporter in recent years. It ranked 10th among the world’s major arms exporters in 2020–24 and expanded its global market share from 0.9% to 2.2%, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
The Asian state has steadily built a defence sector that delivers cutting-edge weapons on tight delivery schedules and at lower cost than its global counterparts. You can read more about that in a detailed EurAsian Times report.
The KF-21’s development is no different, and if reports are to be believed, Seoul is already scouting for customers for the jet. Several countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, the Philippines, and Poland, have actively shown interest in the aircraft.
Notably, compared to other new-generation fighter programs, the KF-21’s development schedule is remarkable.
KF-21 Leapfrogs Other Fighter Programs
While the KF-21 does not claim to be a fifth-generation fighter jet, it is quite there.
KAI has consistently maintained that it is far ahead of other 4.5th-generation jets in capability and is only slightly short of being classified as a 5th-gen aircraft.
The KAI chief, Kang Goo-Young, a retired Republic of Korea Air Force (RoKAF) pilot, earlier said, “They say the KF-21 is a 4.5-generation fighter, but I think that’s an underestimation. Compared to the 4.5-generation French Rafale and the European Eurofighter Typhoon, its performance is superior. So, I call it a 4.9-generation fighter, which is closer to the 5th generation (a fighter with full stealth capabilities).”
In fact, South Korea unveiled plans last year to upgrade the KF-21 through a phased “block” development model, culminating in Block III (also referred to as KF-21EX), which will incorporate true fifth-generation stealth capabilities. These upgrades are reportedly supported by South Korea’s 2026 defence budget, which allocates expanded funding for stealth enhancements, the development of an indigenous engine, integration with unmanned systems or loyal-wingman-type drones, and a host of other subsystems.
It currently lacks internal weapons bays, but future upgrades may add them, potentially leading Seoul to reclassify the aircraft as a fifth-generation fighter. Once that happens, KF-21 could become the fourth country to develop and operate a 5th-generation warplane behind the US, Russia, and China. The aircraft currently has nine to ten external hard points for weaponry, depending on the configuration.
The objectives of these upgrades are to create a cost-effective, export-competitive fifth-gen fighter that complements the Republic of Korea Air Force’s (ROKAF) existing F-35A fleet and positions South Korea as a new player in the global advanced fighter market.
Considering this, the KF-21 has moved quickly into production, zooming ahead of other next-generation aircraft such as India’s Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) or even the Turkish KAAN. Meanwhile, the next-generation fighter programs like the FCAS and the GCAP have been unable to move past the design and development phase.
Compared with other fifth-generation programs worldwide, the KF-21 has maintained an unparalleled pace from first flight to the rollout of the first series-produced aircraft.
For example, the first flight of X-35, the precursor to the F-35, took place on October 24, 2000, but the first series-produced F-35 rolled out only on February 25, 2011—11 years later. Similarly, the Russian fifth-generation stealth fighter, the Su-57, had its maiden flight on January 29, 2010, but the series-produced aircraft was rolled out only in 2020—10 years later.
The South Korean KF-21 has apparently rolled out in less than 5 years from the first flight—very fast compared to the American and Russian fighters. At the same time, it has also zoomed ahead of its contemporary programs, such as the Indian AMCA and the Turkish KAAN, both of which are also aspirational indigenous efforts.
The Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) is India’s indigenous fifth-generation, multirole, stealth fighter program, led by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) under the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). The program was launched in 2010, but it wasn’t until 2024 that development accelerated, with the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) approving full-scale engineering development and prototyping.
However, the program is outmatched by the KF-21 by a wide margin. Last month, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) shortlisted three industry contenders to design and build prototypes of the aircraft, including TATA Advanced Systems Ltd, a consortium of Larsen & Toubro and Bharat Electronics Limited, and a consortium of Bharat Forge, BEML Limited, and Data Patterns.
The first prototype is expected to be unveiled in 2027, with the first flight targeted for 2028. However, experts and military watchers consider this an overly ambitious timeline for the program. According to the official estimates, the first batch of fighters produced under the program would be ready for induction in the Indian Air Force by 2034 to 2035.
Turkey’s KAAN, on the other hand, is faring better than India’s AMCA. The Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) rolled out the first prototype in March 2023, which then took its maiden flight the following year, in February 2024.
TAI has since reportedly developed two more prototypes of the KAAN, which are set to enter testing in 2026. According to reports, serial production of the aircraft will begin only in 2028 (with slight chances of delays), and it will eventually replace the ageing F-16 in the Turkish Air Force. Nonetheless, Turkey has already signed a deal to export the fighter to Indonesia and has expressed optimism about a potential deal with Saudi Arabia, as previously reported by the EurAsian Times.
For now, the KF-21 has made history with its impressive development, testing, and production timelines, ones that could give its rivals a run for their money or prompt them to outpace South Korean capabilities.
As the South Korean President emphasised, the KF-21 is likely to become the next big step for the defence industry. “We will share not only our world-class weapons systems but also our technology and development experience with partner countries,” he said, adding that the government will advance Korea as “a contributor to world peace and prosperity.”
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