Indonesia would move forward with the purchase of 16 KAI KF-21 Boramae fighters from South Korea, in what would be the first export contract for this combat aircraft developed by Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI). The operation, which comes after several twists and turns in Indonesia’s participation in the program, would also mark a new step in the defense relationship between Jakarta and Seoul.
According to a South Korean government official, the signing of a contract for the acquisition of 16 KF-21s is scheduled for May 19, during the state visit of Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto to South Korea, planned for later this month. The same source indicated that, once the final amount of the agreement is coordinated, a separate signing ceremony would be held during the first half of the year.
If finalized, the operation would in practice represent the first overseas export of a combat aircraft developed with South Korean domestic technology. The move would also coincide with a key stage for the program, as mass production of the KF-21 is scheduled for this year and South Korean authorities aim to complete system development in the first half of the year.
The KF-21 program has its origins in November 2000, when then-President Kim Dae-jung stated: “We will become an advanced aerospace nation, capable of developing advanced fighter aircraft domestically no later than 2015.” The project was conceived as a strategic initiative to independently develop a 4.5-generation fighter intended to replace the aging F-4 and F-5 aircraft of the South Korean Air Force, while also responding to the demands of the future battlefield.
Despite that initial ambition, progress on the program was slow in its early stages due to doubts about its commercial viability and difficulties in obtaining advanced technologies. The situation began to change in December 2015, when the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) signed the main contract with KAI for system development, formally launching a new phase of the project.
Since then, the program has mobilized an investment of 8.1 trillion won for joint development between 2015 and 2026, in addition to another 8.4 trillion won allocated for mass production between 2026 and 2028. With that, the total cost reaches 16.5 trillion won, a figure that has placed it among the largest defense capability enhancement projects undertaken by South Korea.
However, the relationship with Indonesia within the program was marked by revisions and tensions regarding financing. In June 2025, both governments concluded a negotiation that once again reduced Jakarta’s financial participation to around 437 million dollars, less than half of the approximately 1.24 billion dollars it had originally committed to contribute when it joined the program in 2016.
That adjustment came after more than a year of negotiations and in a context in which doubts had already emerged over Indonesia’s commitment to the project. Reports at the time indicated that Indonesia had contributed around 292.2 million dollars and that the remaining amount would be subject to a new payment schedule to be defined with KAI and DAPA, while the compensations linked to joint development and technology transfer were also being reduced.
Even so, during 2025 there were still signs of Indonesia’s operational continuity within the program. On September 30 of that year, Colonel Mohammad Sugiyanto, a test pilot of the Indonesian Air Force (TNI-AU), successfully completed his first flight in the front seat of a KF-21 prototype in Sacheon, South Korea, just a few months after Colonel Ferrel Rigonald became the first Indonesian pilot to take direct control of the aircraft during a test flight conducted in June.
Images for illustrative purposes.
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