Image source: topwar.ru
South Korea continues to develop the national fighter KF-21 Boramae, the fourth prototype of the aircraft has already been lifted into the air. According to the Yonhap news agency, this time the developers have tested a two-seat version of the fighter.
On Monday, February 20, from the factory airfield of KAI Corporation (Korean Aerospace Industries) Sacheon in the city of Jinju, a two-seat prototype of the KF-21 fighter took to the air. The plane spent 34 minutes in the air, after which it landed safely. Before that, the developers took off three single-seat prototypes of the aircraft, the first of them took off in July last year, the second in November, and the third flew in January this year.
The two-seat version of the fighter is being developed mainly for pilot training, it will not be supplied to the combat units of the South Korean Armed Forces. By the way, there was only one pilot in the cockpit during the prototype tests.
The South Korean fighter KF-21 Boramae belongs to the 4++ generation. With a maximum takeoff weight of 25,600 kg, it can carry 7700 kg of payload at 10 suspension points. It is stated that the fighter will receive a radar with AFAR and will be produced in both single and double versions. To date, it is positioned as an analogue and competitor of the fifth-generation Su-75 Checkmate single-engine fighter being developed in Russia.
Although it is stated that work on the KF-21 started in 2016, it was first announced in 2001, and Indonesia joined the program in 2010. It is planned that by the beginning of the 2030s, the Air Force of the Republic of Korea will receive about 120 KF-21 Boramae fighters. The new fighters will replace the outdated F-4 Phantom II and F-5 Freedom Fighter / Tiger II.
