South Korea Prepares to Export 16 KF-21 Fighter Jets to Indonesia

Seoul (ANTARA) - South Korea plans to sign an agreement to export 16 KF-21 fighter jets to Indonesia, a government source said on Thursday, marking the first overseas sale of a fighter jet made in South Korea.

The two countries will finalise the agreement for the export of the fighter jets during Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s state visit to South Korea, scheduled from 31 March to 2 April, according to the source.

The final contract for the export deal will be completed in the first half of this year after price negotiations, the source said.

If realised, it will mark the first overseas export of a fighter jet made in South Korea.

South Korea launched the KF-21 development programme in 2015 to acquire a domestically produced supersonic fighter jet to replace its ageing US-made F-4 and F-5 jet fleet in the Air Force.

Indonesia initially agreed to cover about 20% of the project costs as a partner country until June 2026 in exchange for technology transfer from Seoul and other requirements.

However, Jakarta failed to meet payment deadlines and proposed reducing its contribution in exchange for a reduction in the technology transfer level.

In addition, South Korean police have investigated allegations of technology theft by an Indonesian engineer at Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd., the KF-21 manufacturer.

The two countries signed a final agreement last June to cut Jakarta’s contribution to the joint fighter jet project to 600 billion won (Rp6.7 trillion), about a third of the original amount.

The KF-21 fighter jet successfully completed its test flight in January without incident.

The state arms procurement agency plans to complete the development of the fighter jet in the first half of this year and deliver the first batch of the advanced fighter jets to the Air Force in the second half.

Source: Yonhap-OANA