In Korea, Prabowo Discusses Continuation of KF-21 Fighter Jet Project
President Prabowo Subianto discussed the continuation of cooperation on the KF-21 Boramae fighter jet project, also known as Korean Fighter Experiment/Indonesian Fighter Experiment (KFX/IFX), during a bilateral meeting with the President of the Republic of Korea, Lee Jae-myung. The meeting took place at the Blue House, the Presidential Palace of South Korea, on Wednesday, 1 April 2026.
“In the bilateral meeting, one of the issues raised was indeed related to the IFX,” said Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto after attending the Indonesia-Korea Partnership for Resilient Growth forum in Seoul on Wednesday.
According to Airlangga, the President emphasised his commitment to promptly sending a team to South Korea as a follow-up to the fighter aircraft development cooperation. “The President conveyed that he will soon send a team, both of a technical and engineering nature,” said Airlangga.
South Korea partnered with Indonesia on the development of the fighter jet, which was agreed upon during the administration of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono through a cooperation agreement in 2010. The project continued during the administration of Joko Widodo and remains ongoing under Prabowo’s leadership.
The total investment in the project, launched in 2015, amounts to 8.1 trillion won (equivalent to Rp95.32 trillion). Of that amount, Indonesia initially shouldered 20 per cent or 1.6 trillion won. The remainder was covered by the South Korean government at 60 per cent and 20 per cent by Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI).
The KF-21 project was once delayed due to payment postponements from the Indonesian side. In 2025, South Korea finally agreed to reduce Indonesia’s contribution to just 600 billion won.
Airlangga stated that there are still several technical issues that need to be discussed, including matters related to the aircraft specifications. In addition, Indonesia also hopes for a new payment scheme. “However, the hope is that this will be resolved by sending the team there,” said Airlangga.
About two weeks before President Prabowo’s state visit to South Korea, the South Korean news agency Yonhap reported plans to export 16 KF-21 fighter jet units to Indonesia. This number is fewer than the initial plan of 48 units.