KF-21 fighter prototypes succeed in first nighttime flights: arms agency

Yonhap Korea Stories 16:41 March 10, 2023

SEOUL, March 10 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's homegrown KF-21 Boramae fighter jet prototypes have successfully conducted their first nighttime flights, the state arms procurement agency said Friday.

The third and fourth prototypes of the KF-21 conducted the test flights the previous night, as their lighting device operated normally, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA).

It marked the first time that the KF-21 model in development has conducted a night flight.

The first prototype of the model was successful in its maiden flight on July 19 last year, followed by the test flight of a twin-seat prototype on Feb. 20.

DAPA has a plan for a total of more than 2,000 test flights of the KF-21 model by early 2026.

Launched in 2015, the 8.8 trillion-won (US$6.8 billion) KF-21 project is aimed at developing supersonic fighters to replace South Korea's aging fleet of F-4 and F-5 warplanes.