Post #5782

🇰🇷South Korea Delivers First Mass-Produced KF-21 Jets South Korea held a delivery ceremony on March 25 for its first mass-produced KF-21 fighter jets at Korea Aerospace Industries headquarters in Sacheon. President Lee Jae Myung attended and stated the aircraft represents self-reliant defense capability in the air domain, complementing existing land and sea systems. The KF-21 development program launched in 2015 with the goal of replacing the Air Force's aging U.S.-made F-4 and F-5 jets with a domestically produced supersonic fighter. Lee cited the K9 self-propelled howitzer and Cheongung surface-to-air missile as prior demonstrations of South Korea's defense production capacity. Lee said the government intends to use the KF-21 program as a basis for reaching top-four status among global defense powers, and pledged further investment in high-end aircraft technologies. South Korea currently plans to sign an export agreement covering 16 KF-21 jets with Indonesia. #SouthKorea @asianomics