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

South 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,…

By Samantha Johnson / May 5, 2026
South 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 say, as the fighter jet is finally rolled out.
In March, Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) officially unveiled the first production unit of the KF-21 Boramae, making South Korea the eighth country to join an elite group capable of indigenously developing 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.

South Korea has been trying to boost exports of the KF-21 to reduce per-unit cost and possibly compete with 4.5-generation counterparts in China, the US and Europe. Photo: Handout
South Korea has been trying to boost exports of the KF-21 to reduce per-unit cost and possibly compete with 4.5-generation counterparts in China, the US and Europe. Photo: Handout

“The KF-21 will therefore need aggressive marketing and credible long-term sustainment guarantees,” Nemeth argued.

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