Korea Aerospace Industries KF-X
The KF-X is a South Korean project to develop its own multi- role combat aircraft with stealth properties for the South Korean Air Force . It was announced in March 2001 at the Air Force Academy by South Korean President Kim Dae-Jung . Possible cooperation countries are Indonesia and Turkey .
Project status
Only a few details have become known so far, including that the machine will have two engines and internal weapon bays.
According to the Agency for Defense Development (ADD) , the KF-X will replace the outdated F-4 and F-5 . Two concepts were chosen:
- KF-X-101 : Similar to the Lockheed Martin F-35 A with two engines
- KF-X-201 : Similar to the Eurofighter , but with stealth features and two vertical stabilizers.
Korea Aerospace Industries will probably implement the KF-X-101 model, as it is similar in the design of the cockpit and fuselage to the F-35 and the program is supported by the Americans (Boeing).
The start of flight tests was planned for 2016–2017. The KF-X is expected to be in service from 2020 to 2050. ADD has already selected possible engines in the thrust range from 6.5 to 7 tons:
- General Electric F414 (engine of the F-18 Super Hornet )
- Eurojet Turbo EJ2x0 (based on the Eurojet EJ200 engine)
- Snecma M88 ( Rafale engine )
Procurement in South Korea
On February 10, 2015, the previous procurement program was canceled, and the responsible procurement authority started a new attempt, which should be completed in 2025. The volume of the new program is 8.3 billion US dollars.
Technical specifications
- Crew : 1
- Thrust : approx. 52,000 lbf (230 kN)
- Top speed : approx. Mach 1.8
-
Armament :
- M61 Vulcan
- AIM-9X or own development
- AIM-120 or similar
- Small Diameter Bomb or in-house development KGGB
- AGM-169 JCM or own development
- SSM-760K Haeseong anti-ship weapon
- Boramae Air Launched Cruise Missile or Taurus (cruise missile)
- Supersonic speed cruise missiles on Jachont basis
See also
- Sukhoi Su-57 , Russia
- F-22 Raptor , USA
- Chengdu J-20 , China
- Mitsubishi ATD-X , Japan
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b flightglobal.com: KF-X flight test in 2016 or 2017. Retrieved October 26, 2011 .
- ^ Greg Waldron: Seoul forced to re-tender KFX bidding. In: Flightglobal.com. February 10, 2015, accessed February 11, 2015 .