The aircraft conducted its maiden flight in July 2022. KAI exhibited the aircraft at Sacheon Airshow 2022 and unveiled the aircraft carrier design, the KF-21N. Philippine Air Force (PAF) has also shown interest in aircraft.
ROK Defence Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) has said that under this agreement, Indonesia will recommit to funding 20 per cent of the KF-21 development costs by 2026. ROK and Indonesia agreed upon the original structure in 2015. Under this agreement, the two countries will jointly invest KRW8.8 trillion (US$6.2 billion) to develop the KF-21.
Under this structure, payments were scheduled to be made by
Indonesia until 2028, but Jakarta stopped it in 2019. With Indonesia paying 20%
of the development costs, Indonesia gains access to technology, expertise and
the option to purchase aircraft. In this KF-21 development project, PT
Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI) plans to build a prototype of this 4.5-generation
fighter jet in Bandung with assistance from KAI.
