Korea Weighing Different KF-X Stealth Fighter Designs

A decadelong effort by South Korea to develop its own fighter aircraft has finally received approval, yet the feasibility of the ambitious indigenous project, dubbed KF-X, is still in debate.

The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) announced Jan. 5 that it would begin the KF-X development with the allocation of 20 billion won (US $19 million). Seoul aims to produce 120 KF-X jets between 2023 and 2030, the agency said.

But the announcement sparked a dispute over key specifications for the KF-X, especially over the design of the future jet.

The state-funded Agency for Defense Development (ADD) has long studied a twin-engine concept, either of the C103 design that looks somewhat like the F-35 or the C203 design following the European approach and using forward canards in a stealth-shaped airframe.

Both of the twin-engine platforms would be powered by two 18,000-pound engines, ADD officials said.

Korea Aerospace Industries, on the other hand, prefers a single-engine concept, dubbed C501, which is to be built based on the FA-50, a light attack aircraft version of the T-50 supersonic trainer jet co-produced by Lockheed Martin.

The C501, powered by a 29,000-pound engine, is designed to be fitted with a limited low-observable configuration and advanced avionics.

“A single-engine concept is in pursuance of both affordability and combat performance, based on the advanced FA-50 technologies,” said Lee Myung-hwa, Korea Aerospace Industries spokesman.

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