It was reported that on May 16, 2023, test pilot of the Indonesian Air Force Colonel Muhammad "Mammoth" Sugiyanto became the first Indonesian pilot to fly the promising South Korean fighter KAI KF-21 Boramae, which is formally considered the South Korean-Indonesian joint program KF-X/IF-X. The flight was made from the factory airfield of the South Korean aircraft corporation Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) in Sacheon on the fourth and at the same time the first two-seat prototype of the KF-21 aircraft (serial and tail number "004"), KAI test pilot Jim Tae Bom was in the front seat in the cockpit.
Indonesian Air Force test pilot Colonel Muhammad "Mammoth" Sugiyanto after the first flight on the fourth prototype (the first two-seater) of the promising South Korean fighter KAI KF-21 Boramae. Sacheon (South Korea), 05/16/2023 (c) KAIRecall that in 2010, an intergovernmental agreement was signed on Indonesia's accession to the project of the promising South Korean fighter KF-X (now designated KF-21 Boramae), while the share of the Indonesian side in the program was to amount to $ 1.6 billion of the total R&D cost of $ 8.5 billion.
In January 2016, KAI and the Indonesian aircraft manufacturer PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI) signed an agreement on the joint development of the KF-X and its Indonesian version IF-X. The Indonesian Air Force has stated that it intends to purchase 50 IF-X fighters in the period up to 2040. However, in fact, the Indonesian side chronically does not pay for participation in the program. Nevertheless, the South Korean side, interested in expanding the range of customers and the serial number of the KF-21, continues to "pull" Indonesia's participation in the project, and it was announced that the fifth prototype of the KF-21 aircraft (single, serial and tail number "005") made its first flight in Sacheon on the same day on May 16, 2023 It will be further transferred to Indonesia for testing in 2026 and will become the first prototype of the Indonesian version of this IF-X fighter. In the first flight, the fifth prototype of the KF-21 was piloted by a test pilot of the South Korean Air Force.
Colonel Muhammad "Mammoth" Sugiyanto graduated from flight school in 2000 and in recent years served in the 1st Squadron of the 7th Wing of the Indonesian Air Force at Supadio Air Base equipped with Hawk Mk 109/209 aircraft. Also, the Indonesian Air Force sent test pilot Lieutenant Colonel Ferrell "Venom" Rigonald to participate in the KF-21 test program.
The first prototype of the KF-21 Boramae fighter (serial and tail number "001") made its first flight at the KAI factory airfield in Sacheon on July 19, 2022. The first flight of the second prototype ("002") took place on November 10, 2022, the third prototype ("003") - on January 5, 2023, and the fourth prototype (the first two-seater, "004") - on February 20, 2023. Now the fifth prototype has been raised. Flight tests of the last, sixth (second two-seat) prototype are scheduled to begin at the end of June 2023.
Indonesian Air Force test pilot Colonel Muhammad "Mammoth" Sugiyanto after the first flight on the fourth prototype (the first two-seater) of the promising South Korean fighter KAI KF-21 Boramae. Sacheon (South Korea), 05/16/2023 (c) Indonesian Air ForceThe first flight of the fifth prototype (serial and tail number "005") of the promising South Korean fighter KAI KF-21 Boramae.
Sacheon (South Korea), 05/16/2023 (c) KAI