In South Korea, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) has signed a new contract with Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) for an additional batch of advanced KF-21 fighter-bombers.
The South Korean Defense has ordered eighty KF-21s from the Block 2 mass production line, unlike the first two Block 1 lots each consisting of 20 aircraft commissioned in June 2024 and June of this year.
The delivery of the Block 1 Boramaes is expected between 2026 and 2028, while the aircrafts from Block 2 are expected in 2032.
Aircrafts belonging to Block 2, apart from carrying out the air superiority tasks of Block 1, will also have concrete multirole combat capabilities for attack and reconnaissance missions. Subsequently, the Block 1 can also be upgraded to the standards of Block 2 with a software update.
Consequently, at the moment the Seoul Air Force has ordered a total of 120 KF-21 Boramaes that will replace aircrafts reaching the end of their operational life, like the F-4E Phantom II and F-5E/F.
Source and photo credit @Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA)
