South Korea Conducts First Safe Separation Flight Test of Indigenous Long-Range Missile

South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) has completed the first safe separation flight test of a domestically developed long-range air-to-ground guided missile, the agency announced Monday.

The test was carried out on June 23 at the Air Force’s 3rd Training Squadron in Sacheon, Gyeongsangnam-do, the DAPA announced today.

According to DAPA, the test confirmed that the missile can be safely released from an aircraft without affecting structural integrity, flight response, or mission performance. The missile was mounted on an FA-50 prototype aircraft to ensure safety for the KF-21 fighter, which is still under development.

The test followed three months of linked flight trials, including avionics, load testing, environmental conditions, and flight control checks, spanning 31 flights between April and June 2025.

The long-range missile project, launched in 2018, aims to equip South Korea’s next-generation KF-21 fighter jet with the capability to strike deep enemy targets in the early stages of a conflict. It is the second development effort for air-to-ground missiles by DAPA and is designed to achieve performance comparable to or beyond that of the German-made TAURUS missile currently integrated on the F-15K.

Exploratory development, including stealth shaping and precision navigation technology, was completed between 2019 and 2021. Full-scale system development began in 2022.

DAPA plans to continue technical flight testing and evaluations, with integration onto the KF-21 expected in 2027.