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Gov't agrees to transfer KF-21 Boramae fighter jet prototype to Indonesia

Published: 07 Apr. 2026, 10:08 Updated: 07 Apr. 2026, 20:29

The KF-21 Boramae fighter jet flies across the sky near the Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, Gyeonggi, on Oct. 17, 2025. [YONHAP]

The Korean government has effectively agreed to transfer one of the six prototypes of the KF-21 Boramae, a fighter jet developed by Korea Aerospace Industries, to Indonesia, its partner in the joint development program.

Korea and Indonesia reached a working-level agreement in February on a plan for value transfer under the KF-21 joint development project, according to data submitted by the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) on Tuesday to the office of conservative People Power Party Rep. Kang Dae-sik of the National Assembly’s National Defense Committee.

The total scale of the value transfer under the agreement is set at 600 billion won ($398 million), matching the final contribution Indonesia agreed to bear.

The package includes the transfer of the fifth KF-21 prototype, a single-seat model valued at approximately 350 billion won; 174.2 billion won for the technology transfer and local research personnel costs; and 75.8 billion won for the provision of development data.

Since achieving its maiden flight in May 2023, the fifth prototype has been used to verify key avionics performance, including an active electronically scanned array radar, and to conduct aerial refueling tests.

The KF-21 fighter jet at the launching ceremony at the Korea Aerospace Industries headquarters in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang, on March 25. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Indonesia initially joined the program on the condition that it would cover about 20 percent of the total development cost, or roughly 1.6 trillion won. However, it has delayed payments, citing domestic economic conditions. The Korean government subsequently lowered Indonesia’s contribution to 600 billion won, and following the reduction, it reviewed whether to transfer a prototype from scratch.

Indonesia has so far paid 536 billion won out of the total 600 billion won and plans to pay the remaining 64 billion won by June.

DAPA plans to finalize the timing of the transfer of the prototype and development data once full payment is confirmed.

Separately from the value transfer process, Korea is continuing talks with Indonesia to export 16 KF-21 jets.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KO SEUNG-PYO [[email protected]]