KF-21 Boramae Performs First Night Flight

Reddit / u/rokarmedforces

South Korea’s new KF-21 Boramae just conducted its first nighttime flights on March 9, 2023. 

According to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, the test flights were a success, as their lightning devices operated normally during the tests.

The KF-21 first flew on July 19, 2022, while the two-seater prototype did it on February 20, 2023. So far, DAPA plans to achieve more than 2,000 test flights with the KF-21 by 2026. 

Production is slated to begin in 2026, with South Korea expecting at least 40 models to be delivered by 2028.

Launched in 2015, the $6.8 billion KF-X project is expected to replace South Korea’s aging fleet of F-4 and F-5 fighters. Only time will tell if these 4.5-gen fighters are worth the time and money South Korea and Indonesia invested.