South Korea and Indonesia on Thursday concluded talks to solve the late payment from the Indonesian side in the KF-21/IF-X joint jet fighter project between the two nations.
According to an official statement from the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) of South Korea, Indonesia will “…make payments over the next five years until 2026, and thirty percent of that would be in-kind transfers.”
DAPA also stated that Indonesia and South Korea would discuss later the Indonesian commodities that will be used for the in-kind transfers, with one source in the agency commenting that they could include Indonesian natural resources.
The KF-21 Boramae (Fighting Hawk) project, formerly known as KF-X or Korea Fighter Experimental, was first initiated in South Korea in 2001. After a series of meetings with Indonesian officials in 2010, it was then agreed that Indonesia would join the project to eventually create its own version called IF-X (Indonesia Fighter Experimental). It was also agreed that Indonesia would shoulder 20% of the development cost (about US$6,7 billion). Indonesia is yet to pay the development cost.
There were rumors that financial trouble would force Indonesia to drop out of the project, but those doubts were laid to rest at the official launching of the first KF-21 prototype in April this year. The Indonesian Minister of Defense was invited to the event and the country reaffirmed its commitment to the project by sending 32 Indonesian engineers back to South Korea in August.
The 32 engineers are among the 100 Indonesian engineers who were previously working on the project in South Korea before they had to be sent home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The rest of the engineers will return to South Korea to resume working on the IF-X prototype in December this year.
Following the planned KF-21 first flight next year, Indonesia will also receive an IF-X prototype that will be developed further in Indonesia.
The KF-21 Boramae is the 4.5th generation jet fighter designed with low-observability features. While it is not a fully “stealth” aircraft in its current iteration due to the exclusion of internal weapon bays, it is likely to be developed further into a proper 5th generation stealth fighter jet.
Further development of the Indonesian version, unofficially known as “F-33”, will take a separate path since it will be carried out by the PTDI, the Indonesian state-owned aerospace company. It’s not yet known whether future Indonesian versions will also become the 5th generation fighter or otherwise.
As many as 120 KF-21 for South Korea and 48 “F-33” for Indonesia will be produced as part of the project.
Terma has received a purchase order from the Danish Ministry of Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organisation (DALO) concerning system integration…
Iran has not used a hypersonic missile in its recent attack on Israel, but but Israel has accelerated its efforts…
Toyota Motor Corporation is set to invest an additional $500 million in Joby Aviation, a company focused on developing electric…
LATAM Airlines Group is set to retrofit four more Boeing 777 aircraft with AeroSHARK, a surface film technology designed to…
Boeing successfully completed the first flight of the AH-6 Little Bird light attack helicopter for the Royal Thai Army (RTA)…
At the recent MRO Asia Pacific event in Singapore, HAECO and Boeing signed a new deal to cover spares and…
ST Engineering's Commercial Aerospace business has secured a 15-year exclusive MRO contract with Akasa Air, India’s fastest growing airline, to…
BBN Airlines Indonesia, a new entrant in the country’s aviation sector, has officially commenced operations after receiving its Air Operation…
The French defence procurement agency (DGA) has selected Exail to develop an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) capable of operating at…
Regional Air Mobility company Lilium has completed the first systems power-on milestone of its all-electric Lilium Jet. The successful test…
Embraer has signed an Industrial Cooperation Agreement (ICA) with the Czech Ministry of Defense (MOD). The strategic agreement aimsto enhance…
Plaza Premium Group (PPG), a provider of airport hospitality services, has opened its Plaza Premium First lounge at Macau International…
HENSOLDT, a sensor solution provider, has partnered with DFS, the German air navigation service provider, to advance the use of…
The continued clashes between Israel and the Houthi rebels in Yemen signal that the Suez Canal and the Red sea…
Pratt & Whitney, an RTX business, has officially opened a new 845,000-square-foot facility in Oklahoma City, marking the company’s largest…
Cebu Pacific, a low-cost carrier based in the Philippines, has finalised a firm order with Airbus for 70 A321neo aircraft,…
In view of the growing tension between Israel and some of the Iranian proxies in the region, the Israeli ministry…
The Indo Defence, Indo Aerospace, and Indo Marine 2024 Expo & Forum, which was originally set to take place from…
The Franco-German defence group KNDS, a key partner of the Ukrainian land forces, has established a subsidiary in Kyiv. The…
Deutsche Aircraft has announced a partnership with Weerts Group for the construction of its Final Assembly Line (FAL) at Leipzig/Halle…
Savunma Teknolojileri Mühendislik ve Ticaret A.Ş. (STM) and Bahçeşehir University (BAU) are set to develop ocean sensing systems aimed at…
Naval Group has formalised a contract to deliver four Barracuda Family expeditionary submarines to the Netherlands, as announced during a…
Challenge Group has announced the expansion of its operations in India by introducing two weekly flights to Delhi, commencing on…
ECS Group’s subsidiary, AVS GSA, in partnership with Thai Vietjet and Lactasoy, has launched an initiative to assist flood-affected communities…
Liebherr-Aerospace and Egyptair Maintenance & Engineering have signed a three-year contract for the maintenance of heat transfer equipment on Airbus…
Rheinmetall, a German technology group, and US-based Honeywell have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to explore strategic cooperation on…
SATS Ltd has signed a three-year agreement with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to expand the implementation of DG…
Semi Conductor Devices (SCD) has launched the Sparrow HD, a mid-wave infrared (MWIR) sensor module aimed at improving detection and…
As global air traffic demand exceeds pre-pandemic levels in 2024, airlines are turning their attention to fleet expansion, according to…
In recent months, the Houthi rebels in Yemen, an Iranian proxy, managed to shoot down a number of U.S-made MQ-9…
Headquartered in Singapore with reporters spread across all major regions, GBP Aerospace & Defence is a leading media house that publishes three publications that serve the aerospace and defence sector - Asian Defence Technology, Asian Airlines & Aerospace and Daily News. Known industry-wide for quality journalism, GBP Aerospace & Defence is present at more international tradeshows and exhibitions than any other competing publication in the region.
For over three decades, our award-winning team of reporters has been producing top-notch content to help readers stay abreast of the latest developements in the field of commercial aviation, MRO, defence, and Space.
Copyright 2024. GBP. All Rights Reserved.
Home Defence & Security Space Commercial Aviation Maintence Repair & Overhaul Daily News Events About Us
2024 GBP all rights reserved.