Can South Korea’s most advanced fighter, the KF-21, compete with China, the US and Europe?

AdvertisementDefenceChinaMilitaryCan South Korea’s most advanced fighter, the KF-21, compete with China, the US and Europe?

Recent roll-out puts Seoul in elite group of countries capable of indigenously developing their own advanced supersonic combat aircraft

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Seong Hyeon ChoiPublished: 6:00pm, 5 May 2026South Korea’s first home-grown combat aircraft, the KF-21, still has a “long way to go” competing globally against products from the US, Europe and China, analysts said, as the fighter jet finally rolls out.In March, Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) officially unveiled the first production unit of the KF-21 Boramae, placing Seoul in an elite group of now eight 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.

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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.

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