South Korea unveils fighter jet mock-up amid programme challenges

Korea Aerospace Industries

15/10/2019 11:53

By Josh Smith and Ju-min Park
    SEONGNAM, South Korea, Oct 15 (Reuters) - South Korea has
displayed the first full-size mock-up of the KF-X fighter jet it
is developing with Indonesia, after officials said the programme
passed key design reviews in September.
    The next-generation aircraft being developed by Korea
Aerospace Industries (KAI)  047810.KS  is designed to be a
cheaper, less-stealthy alternative to the U.S.-built F-35, and
the plan is to eventually replace most of South Korea's older
fighter jets and produce more for export.
    The mock-up was displayed on Monday at the Seoul
International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition (ADEX).
    South Korea has ordered 40 of the advanced F-35A aircraft
from the United States, the first of which arrived this year.
    North Korea has condemned South Korea's purchase of the
F-35s, as well as the development of other advanced weapons. 
    KAI is currently manufacturing a KF-X prototype and plans to
carry out ground testing and flight tests in 2021 and 2022,
respectively, company officials said.
    "On the face of it they are making good progress, but there
are signs of challenges in the programme," said Greg Waldron,
Asia managing editor for FlightGlobal, a publication covering
the aerospace industry.
    Among these are Indonesia's push to renegotiate how it will
pay its portion of the costs, and breaking into an export market
crowded with established alternatives, Waldron said.
    "With a programme this ambitious you really have to spread
the cost among many partners," he said. "They could sell a few
here and there, but the problem is they are going to be kind of
late to the market and there are already many strong aircraft
already out there."
    South Korean and Indonesia agreed in 2014 to jointly develop
the KF-X in a project worth 7.5 trillion won ($6.33 billion)
with Jakarta agreeing to pay 20% of the cost.
    Last year, however, Indonesia sought to renegotiate to take
pressure off its foreign exchange reserves and has since offered
to pay its share of the cost in the form of a barter.
    The KF-X programme also hit a snag when South Korea was
forced to develop several key technologies after the United
States refused to provide approval for the use of some systems,
like a radar, which is now being developed by Hanwha Systems.
    But KAI says the project is progressing, and is helping
South Korea build on its earlier aircraft programmes.
    "We could not have done KF-X if we did not have experience
in building T-50 and FA-50," a senior company official said,
speaking on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to
speak to the media. "We are advancing step by step."  
    ($1 = 1,185.6500 won)

 (Reporting by Josh Smith and Ju-min Park; Editing by Mark
Potter)
 ((JoshSmith1@thomsonreuters.com))