Recent roll-out puts Seoul in elite group of countries capable of indigenously developing their own advanced supersonic combat aircraft
The roll-out marked the start of mass production for the 4.5-generation fighter, with an initial 40 Block I units to be completed for the South Korean Air Force by 2028.
According to Bence Nemeth, a senior lecturer in defence studies at King’s College London and executive director of the King’s Centre for Defence Economics and Management, the KF-21 could be competitive in overseas exports but entered the market “late and in a crowded field”.
Nemeth said South Korea’s advantages were likely to be its cost, quality, delivery speed and willingness to offer industrial cooperation. But he added that procuring fighters was also about political alignment and wartime supply-chain reliability.
“The KF-21 will therefore need aggressive marketing and credible long-term sustainment guarantees,” Nemeth argued.
Source: News - South China Morning Post
