President Lee Jae Myung, who attended the ceremony at Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) in Sacheon, described the rollout as a historic step toward strengthening self-reliant defense capabilities.
“South Korea has finally secured weapons developed with our own technology and determination to protect peace not only on land and sea, but also in the skies,” Lee said.
“This marks a proud achievement for self-reliant national defense,” Lee said, calling the moment a “historic milestone” for the nation.
About 500 attendees joined the ceremony, including test pilots of the KF-21, defense industry officials, air force cadets, students from the aviation science high school and diplomatic representatives from 14 countries.
The KF-21 Boramae is a 4.5-generation supersonic fighter jet developed by KAI in cooperation with the Republic of Korea Air Force and the Agency for Defense Development under the KF-X (Korea Fighter eXperimental) program.
Lee emphasized that the KF-21 represents decades of national ambition. “This fighter, designed with our own technology and built by our own hands, embodies our long-standing aspiration for self-reliant defense,” he said.
He also highlighted the long development process, noting that the project dates back to 2001 when then-President Kim Dae-jung first announced plans to develop a domestically produced fighter jet.
“This historic achievement did not come easily,” Lee said. “For 25 years, our researchers and military personnel overcame countless challenges and turned what once seemed impossible into reality.”
He added that the KF-21’s success goes beyond strengthening national defense saying that the jet has already drawn strong interest from overseas even before its rollout.
Lee also noted that South Korea has already demonstrated its defense capabilities through exports such as the K9 self-propelled howitzer and the Cheongung air defense missile system.
The KF-21 is expected to be deployed to the South Korean Air Force later this year.
According to government and industry officials, the fighter jet is drawing interest from several countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, the Philippines and Poland, in addition to Indonesia, which has already signed on as a development partner.
With the KF-21 rollout, South Korea has become the eighth country or region to successfully develop a 4.5-generation or higher supersonic fighter jet, joining the United States, China, Russia, Japan, France, Sweden and a European consortium.
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