Key Points
- South Korea launched a $296 million program to develop quick‑vary air‑to‑air missiles for the KF‑21 fighter by 2032.
- The Agency for Defense Development will lead the challenge with participation from LIG Nex1 and Hanwha Aerospace.
South Korea has formally launched a 435.9 billion-won ($296 million) challenge to develop indigenous short-range air-to-air guided missiles for its domestically produced KF-21 fighter jets.
According to an announcement from the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), the missile growth initiative is scheduled for completion by 2032.
The effort goals to offer the KF-21 with domestically developed weapon programs, lowering reliance on international know-how and supporting broader protection export targets.
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“This challenge is geared toward creating guided missiles for homegrown fighter jets by 2032, in our bid to diversify weapons programs and enhance arms exports,” DAPA mentioned.
The Agency for Defense Development (ADD) will lead this system, with native protection contractors, together with LIG Nex1 and Hanwha Aerospace, anticipated to take part. In an announcement, a DAPA official mentioned the missile “is predicted to mark a key milestone in advancing Korea’s airborne weapons programs and increasing the nation’s protection business within the aviation sector.”
The missile is predicted to be built-in with the KF-21 Boramae, a 4.5-generation multirole fighter developed by Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI). The plane efficiently accomplished its maiden flight in 2022 and is at present present process a sequence of growth and analysis phases, with operational deployment projected for the latter a part of the last decade.
Equipping the KF-21 with a domestically developed short-range missile enhances ongoing efforts to scale back reliance on U.S. and European missile applied sciences, such because the AIM-9X Sidewinder or IRIS-T, each at present thought-about for integration into the Boramae.
DAPA emphasised that indigenizing air-to-air missile capabilities is “important for making certain strategic autonomy” and allows extra versatile arms procurement choices amid evolving geopolitical pressures and shifting export management rules.
LIG Nex1, one of many companies anticipated to affix the event effort, has beforehand led missile packages together with the Chiron MANPADS and the medium-range surface-to-air missile system (KM-SAM). Hanwha Aerospace, in the meantime, is a key provider of plane engines, avionics, and different aerospace programs for each home and export-oriented platforms.
As South Korea continues to increase its footprint in world protection markets, the KF-21 program has drawn curiosity from potential companions and clients, notably in Southeast Asia and the Middle East. Adding an indigenous missile system is seen as an asset for nations searching for a whole weapons bundle not constrained by third-party export licenses.
