South Korea Completes KF-21 Boramae Development After 1,600 Accident-Free Test Flights

South Korea formally closed out development of the KF-21 Boramae on July 29, 2026, with the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) declaring the program complete at a ceremony held at Korea Aerospace Industries' headquarters in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province.

The milestone falls 10 years and seven months after system development began in December 2015. Six prototypes, two of them twin-seat airframes, flew more than 1,600 test sorties across 42 months without an accident. DAPA said the program had completed basic and detailed design, prototype manufacturing, ground testing and flight testing, together with the integrated logistics support and training systems that accompany the aircraft into service.

The fighter finished its flight test campaign in January 2026, two months ahead of schedule, and cleared its final combat suitability evaluation in May. Development cost is put at 8.8 trillion won, about $6.04 billion. Indonesia joined as a development partner, sharing costs in exchange for technology transfer and a prototype.

DAPA plans to hand the first production aircraft to the Republic of Korea Air Force in September 2026, after verification by both the manufacturer and the service. Forty aircraft are to be delivered by 2028, followed by 80 in an enhanced configuration by 2032, for a program total of 120.

That total is what makes the September handover a genuine turning point rather than a paperwork milestone. GlobalMilitary.net's inventory currently lists all 120 KF-21s as on order with none in service, and the aircraft has a concrete gap to fill: the Republic of Korea Air Force still flies 48 F-5E Tiger IIs, a 1970s-vintage light fighter. Alongside them sit 40 F-35As with 20 more on order, 59 F-15Ks and 167 F-16C/Ds, in a fleet of roughly 1,540 aircraft.

The KF-21 is positioned between those tiers — a 4.5-generation fighter with provision for later capability growth rather than a stealth aircraft, which is why South Korea continues to buy the F-35 in parallel. South Korea ranks sixth in the global military power ranking, and domestic production of a supersonic fighter puts it in a small group of nations able to design and build combat aircraft without foreign prime contractors.

Attention now turns to the enhanced Block II configuration due from 2032 and to export prospects, which South Korean officials have repeatedly identified as a program goal. Neither depends on the development declaration itself, but both rest on the ROKAF proving the aircraft in squadron service from September onward.