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South Korea Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI)
KF-21 Boramae
South Korean-led 4.5-generation multirole fighter developed with Indonesia to replace aging F-4 and F-5 fleets, featuring a low-observable-shaped airframe without internal weapons bays. Entered low-rate initial production for the Republic of Korea Air Force with a future AESA-equipped, more-stealthy Block upgrade path planned.
In service since 2026 · 2 operator countries
Compiled from public sources ·primary reference ↗ ·last verified 2026-07-01
2,200
km/h
2,900
km range
16,700
m ceiling
7,700
kg payload
1
T/W
💲 ≈ $65,000,000 — Estimated unit cost, early production
Procurement snapshot
Availability & export
ROK export-licensed
DAPA-administered; aggressive export posture with financing/offset packages.
Channel: Government-to-government
Fielded & proven
Limited · 2 operators
In service since 2026. Status: active · ~20 built.
Lifecycle cost (est.)
$163M – $228M
Acquisition is only ~30% of lifecycle cost — operating & support dominate over ~30 yrs. Rough 2.5–3.5× the unit price.
Interoperability
Derived guidance from public data — export regime by country of origin, lifecycle from the GAO ~30% acquisition rule. Verify eligibility, pricing and offsets with the manufacturer and your acquisition authority.
Full specifications
Performance
Speed, range, altitude and engagement capability.
- Max speed
Maximum level speed. For aircraft this is at optimal altitude; for ground vehicles, top road speed. Higher means faster response and better kinematic performance.
- 2,200 km/h Stronger than 57% of fighters
- Max speed (Mach)
Maximum speed as a multiple of the speed of sound. Mach 2+ is typical for air-superiority fighters.
- 1.81 Mach Stronger than 44% of fighters
- Range
Maximum distance: ferry range for aircraft, operational range for vehicles, maximum engagement distance for missiles. Higher means more standoff or persistence.
- 2,900 km Stronger than 38% of fighters
- Combat radius
Distance an aircraft can fly, complete its mission and return without refueling. Roughly a third of ferry range.
- 700 km Stronger than 24% of fighters
- Service ceiling
Maximum operating altitude. Higher gives energy advantage and sensor horizon.
- 16,700 m Stronger than 46% of fighters
- Thrust-to-weight
Engine thrust divided by loaded weight. Above 1.0 the aircraft can accelerate going straight up.
- 1 Stronger than 59% of fighters
Firepower
Armament, payload and guidance.
- Main armament
Primary weapon: main gun, cannon or missile type.
- 20 mm M61A2 Vulcan rotary cannon
- Hardpoints
External stations for weapons and pods. More means bigger and more flexible loadouts.
- 10 Stronger than 64% of fighters
- Weapons payload
Maximum ordnance weight the platform can carry. Higher means more strike capacity per sortie.
- 7,700 kg Stronger than 55% of fighters
Protection
Armor, countermeasures and survivability.
- Countermeasures
Self-protection: chaff, flares, DIRCM, towed decoys, smoke dischargers, jammers.
- chaff, flares, radar warning receiver
- Signature reduction
Radar cross-section shaping, RAM coatings, IR suppression. Actual RCS values are classified.
- Reduced radar cross-section airframe shaping with sawtooth panel edges; no internal weapons bay
Physical
Dimensions, weight and crew.
- Length
Overall length including gun/probe where applicable.
- 16.9 m
- Wingspan
Wingtip-to-wingtip span.
- 11.2 m
- Height
Overall height. Lower profile is harder to spot and hit for ground vehicles.
- 4.7 m
- Empty weight
Weight without fuel, ammunition or crew.
- 11,700 kg
- Combat weight
Fully loaded weight. Lighter eases transport and bridging limits; heavier often means more armor.
- 25,600 kg
- Crew
Personnel required to operate. Fewer reduces exposure; autoloaders trade a loader for mechanical complexity.
- 1
Propulsion
Engine, power and fuel.
- Engine
Powerplant model and type.
- 2x General Electric F414-GE-400K afterburning turbofans
- Engines
Number of engines. Twin-engine gives redundancy at higher cost.
- 2
- Thrust
Total engine thrust (with afterburner where applicable).
- 98 kN Stronger than 49% of fighters
- Propulsion type
Turbofan, turboshaft, diesel, gas turbine, solid-fuel rocket, ramjet…
- Turbofan
Sensors & avionics
Radar, sensor suite and datalinks.
- Radar
Primary radar. AESA (active electronically scanned array) is the current state of the art.
- Hanwha Systems AESA
- Sensors
IRST, EO/IR turrets, laser designators, sniper pods, thermal sights.
- infrared search and track (IRST), electro-optical targeting pod
- Datalink
Network connectivity: Link 16, MADL, national datalinks. Enables cooperative engagement.
- Link 16-compatible datalink
Program
Cost, production scale and operators.
- Unit cost
Approximate flyaway/unit cost where public. Defense pricing varies hugely by contract, offsets and configuration. Lower is cheaper.
- $65,000,000 Stronger than 42% of fighters
- Units built
Total production run. Higher means proven manufacturing, mature logistics and spares availability.
- 20 Bottom 8% of fighters
- Operator countries
Number of countries operating the system. More operators means broader support ecosystem.
- 2 Stronger than 50% of fighters
Specifications compiled from public Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) and reference sources ↗. Published defense figures are approximations — treat comparisons as directional. Last verified 2026-07-01.
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What is the top speed of the Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) KF-21 Boramae? +
The Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) KF-21 Boramae has a maximum speed of 2,200 km/h.
What is the range of the Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) KF-21 Boramae? +
The Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) KF-21 Boramae has a maximum range of 2,900 km.
What is the weapons payload of the Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) KF-21 Boramae? +
The Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) KF-21 Boramae can carry up to 7,700 kg of weapons payload.
How much does the Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) KF-21 Boramae weigh? +
The Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) KF-21 Boramae has a combat weight of 25,600 kg.
How many crew does the Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) KF-21 Boramae require? +
The Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) KF-21 Boramae requires a crew of 1.
What is the main armament of the Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) KF-21 Boramae? +
The Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) KF-21 Boramae's primary weapon is the 20 mm M61A2 Vulcan rotary cannon.
What engine does the Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) KF-21 Boramae use? +
The Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) KF-21 Boramae is powered by the 2x General Electric F414-GE-400K afterburning turbofans.
What is the Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) KF-21 Boramae used for? +
The Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) KF-21 Boramae is a fighter aircraft typically used for multirole combat, air superiority, close air support.
How many countries operate the Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) KF-21 Boramae? +
The Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) KF-21 Boramae is operated by 2 countries.
How much does the Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) KF-21 Boramae cost? +
The Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) KF-21 Boramae has an approximate unit cost of 65,000,000 USD. Defense pricing varies by contract, offsets and configuration — treat this as directional.
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