South Korea has unveiled a prototype of its own fifth-generation KF-21 combat aircraft, Die Welt reports. According to the publication, its stealth technology is superior to the similar technology of the Eurofighter fighters. In addition, the KF-21 costs $65 million, which is significantly less than the price of the American F-35.
Die Welt: the new Korean fighter is more technologically advanced than the Eurofighter and cheaper than the F-35Reuters
Eight years ago, the project managers of the European fighter "Eurofighter" planned to deliver it to South Korea and even establish mass production of these machines there, writes Die Welt. However, in the end, everything turned out differently.
Recently, South Korea presented a prototype of its own multi-purpose combat aircraft KF-21, the newspaper notes. The first flight of the aircraft, which was developed at a cost of $8 billion, is scheduled to take place in 2022. Thus, Europe has a competitor, writes Die Welt.
The publication notes that the KF-21 contains many American components. For example, both powerplants of the fighter are produced by General Electric. According to Die Welt, it is reported that the stealth technology used on the KF-21 is better than that of the Eurofighter, but worse than that of the F-35.
According to the criteria of military experts, the KF-21 falls into the category of fifth-generation combat aircraft, while the Eurofighter belongs to the fourth, the newspaper notes. In addition, the KF-21 has a relatively low cost — one copy costs $65 million, which is significantly less than the cost of the American F-35. Potential buyers of the Korean fighter are Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand.
A small consolation for the Europeans will be that they will take part in the supply of some components, writes Die Welt. For example, guided air-to-air missiles for the KF-21 will be delivered from Germany.
