Hanwha Launches First Mass-Produced AESA Radar for KF-21 Fighter

Hanwha Systems has started mass production of South Korea’s first domestically developed active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar for the KF-21 Boramae multirole fighter.

Forty units are scheduled for delivery between 2025 and 2028 under a contract signed earlier this year.

A rollout ceremony was held on August 5 at the Yongin Research and Development Center, attended by over 50 officials from the Republic of Korea Air Force, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), and the Agency for Defense Development (ADD).

The radar’s hardware was developed by Hanwha Systems, while LIG Nex1 designed the software. AESA radar development began in 2016, with the first prototype revealed in 2020.

The radar was previously tested during the KF-21 campaign and mounted on a Boeing 737-500 operated by South Africa’s Aircraft Instrument and Electronics from November 2022 to February 2023.

At Yongin, the newly completed antenna testing facility includes a Near-Field Chamber capable of testing four AESA units at once. The system uses around 1,000 transmit/receive (T/R) modules built with gallium nitride (GaN) transistors, enabling multi-role functions such as tracking airborne, ground, and maritime targets, with increased resistance to jamming.

In synthetic aperture radar (SAR) mode, it can produce radar images with 0.5-meter resolution at 50–70 km, and 1–2 meters at 100–200 km. Air targets with a radar cross-section of 1 square meter can be detected at 130–150 km. A version may also include an electronic warfare mode where some T/R modules emit jamming beams.

In May 2024, Hanwha signed its first export agreement with European defense firm Leonardo for integration into light attack aircraft, marking South Korea’s entry into the global radar market.

The KF-21, which is undergoing flight testing, is part of South Korea’s broader defense modernization plan and is intended to replace legacy F-4 and F-5 platforms.