Military
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State arms procurement agency denies news reports on mass-production plan for fighter jet KF-21 in 2024
SEOUL -- South Korea's arms procurement agency has denied major domestic media outlets' reports on its mass-production plan for the homemade fighter jet KF-21, saying that the schedule has not been confirmed. Media outlets including Yonhap News Agency reported that the agency aims to sign the mass-production contract in the first half of 2024 after carrying out the feasibility study for three months starting in May 2023. "The project's feasibility study per
24 March 2023
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S. Korea's arms procurement agency discusses cooperation in defense sector with US think tank
SEOUL -- South Korea's arms procurement agency has discussed cooperation methods with the United States at a conference held in Washington D.C. At the annual meeting, government and industry officials from both countries brought up the U.S. Defense Department's foreign comparative testing program, which demonstrates various items and technologies of U.S. allies to see if they could be adopted by the U.S. armed forces. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA)
17 March 2023
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S. Korea to establish drone operations command headquarters in 2023
SEOUL -- South Korea will establish a drone operations command headquarters that will manage the operation of unmanned aerial vehicles that play the role of compact-sized attack aircraft and reconnaissance airplanes, the Ministry of Defense said. The blueprint for the drone-specialized division was originally revealed in January. The defense ministry's announcement was made about three months after the airspace of Seoul and its northern satellite cities were breached by a handf
8 March 2023
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Malaysia signs $920 million deal to buy South Korean light jet fighters
SEOUL -- Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), South Korea's sole aircraft maker, has secured a deal worth $920 million (1.2 trillion won) to deliver 18 light fighter jets called "FA-50" to Malaysia starting in 2026. KAI said in a press release February 24 that FA-50 was selected as the preferred bidder by Malaysia's defense ministry among six light fighters that include Russia's MIG-35, Turkey's Hurizet and India's Tejas. Malaysia has become the sixth Sou
24 February 2023
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S. Korea's first two-seater fighter jet KF-21 succeeds 34-minute maiden flight
SEOUL -- The fourth prototype of South Korea's homemade fighter jet KF-21 successfully conducted its flight about seven months after the first prototype made its 33-minute maiden flight in July 2022. The first two-seater fighter jet will be used for various missions such as testing the performance of a computer-controlled array antenna system that determines the survival of fighter jets in a combat situation. According to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA),
20 February 2023
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South Korea to invest $1.16 billion in defense industry by 2027 to boost exports
SEOUL -- The South Korean government has decided to invest 1.5 trillion won ($1.16 billion) in developing defense technologies under a private-military cooperation project by 2027. On February 14, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Ministry of National Defense announced the Third Basic Plan on Private-Public Technology Development Cooperation to beef up the country's defense industry as one of strategic export growth engines. The ministries have selected 16
16 February 2023
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S. Korea's homemade fighter jet KF-21 succeeds in supersonic flight for first time
SEOUL -- The prototype of South Korea's homemade fighter jet KF-21 succeeded in its first supersonic flight. The maiden supersonic flight proved that the multirole fighter's mechanical structure is stable. The first jet fighter christened "KF-21 Boramae (Young Hawk)" made its 33-minute maiden flight on July 19, 2022, in a closed event on a military runway in the southern city of Sacheon, the home base of Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), the sole aircraft maker in
17 January 2023
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Defense development agency localizes multi-beamforming AESA antenna technology for first time
SEOUL -- South Korea's defense development agency has localized multi-beamforming active electronically scanned array antenna technology for the first time in the country. The antenna array will help aerial vehicles establish a communication link and multiple weapon systems using a single antenna unit. The antenna can dramatically increase the operational area of drones and unmanned aerial vehicles. An active electronically scanned array (AESA) antenna is top-notch equipment th
27 December 2022
