Korea Aerospace Announces $460M Deal to Add Air-to-Ground Capabilities to KF-21 Fighter

Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) has signed a 685.9 billion won (approx.. $460 million) contract with South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) to conduct additional armament testing for the KF-21 fighter, expanding the aircraft’s role beyond air-to-air missions.

The contract, signed on June 19 but announced recently, covers an additional armament test program running until December 28. The agreement allows flight test verification of air-to-ground capabilities to begin before the current system development phase ends.

The program will test, evaluate, and verify air-to-ground weapons, extending the KF-21’s operational envelope. In parallel, KAI will assess air-to-ground functions of the fighter’s AESA radar and key avionics systems. The company expects the work to support full operational capability by the end of the project period.

Testing will follow a three-phase structure under a revised system development plan approved by DAPA in August last year. Capabilities validated in each phase will be fielded sequentially. Under the revised schedule, air-to-ground capability, previously planned for deployment from the end of 2028, is now expected to be introduced starting in the first half of 2027.

The KF-21 program has entered its production phase, with the first mass-production aircraft currently under manufacture. Operational service with the Republic of Korea Air Force is planned for the second half of 2026.

KAI expects the expanded weapons and avionics package to affect overseas interest in the KF-21, including from countries already operating the FA-50 in the Middle East and Southeast Asia.