S. Korea approves cutting Indonesia's contribution for joint KF-21 fighter project to 600 bln won

[Indos]

S. Korea approves cutting Indonesia's contribution for joint KF-21 fighter project to 600 bln won​

SEOUL, Aug. 16 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's defense authorities on Friday approved a plan to reduce Indonesia's contribution for a joint fighter jet development project to 600 billion won (US$440 million), about one-third of the original amount, the state arms procurement agency said.


The Defense Project Promotion Committee endorsed the plan amid concerns over Jakarta's commitment to the KF-21 project due to its repeated payment delays.


Indonesia initially agreed to pay 1.6 trillion won, representing 20 percent of the 8.1 trillion-won program launched in 2015 to develop an advanced supersonic fighter. However, Indonesia has so far contributed only around 380 billion won and has recently requested to reduce its total financial contribution to 600 billion won.


The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said the plan covers ways to secure insufficient funds, but did not offer details.


It said the approval considered various factors, including bilateral relations and the possibility of securing the funds, adding that it would properly wrap up cost-sharing talks with Indonesia.


Despite the payment delays, the project is on track to start delivering the advanced fighters, designed to replace South Korea's F-4 and F-5 Cold War-era jets, to the Air Force in 2026.


In June, Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd., the country's sole fighter jet builder, signed a 1.96 trillion-won deal with DAPA to start production of 20 KF-21s.

 

[Indos]

Around Week AGO

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Korean Aerospace CEO latest Interview
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Before the start of mass production of the KF-21, KAI was plagued by allegations of leaking secrets from researchers in Indonesia, the country that co-developed the KF-21.

"I should have managed those researchers better, but I apologize to the government and the people for the gaps. First of all, we checked at our level and there were no major problems. It was a collection of information that we provided at meetings and other meetings. The investigation is ongoing, so it is impossible to say what the outcome will be. However, as Indonesia is an important strategic partner for us, it is a burden for it to turn into a diplomatic issue. Indonesia purchased the KT-1 in 2001 and was the first exporter of the Korean aircraft. Later, the T-50 was also purchased. The development of the KF-21 could have been stalled if Indonesia had not participated. Indonesia has made a significant contribution to the development of Korea's aerospace industry. If Indonesia buys South Korean weapons, the impact will affect the entire Southeast Asian country. I hope that we can take these things into consideration and come to a victorious conclusion."

― Indonesia said it would not pay 1 trillion won out of the 1.6 trillion won allocated for the development of the KF-21, leaving the government and KAI to bear the shortfall of 1 trillion won.

"In the process of developing the KF-21, efforts were made to reduce costs. If R&D proceeds smoothly as it is now, it is expected that the cost will be reduced by 500 billion ~ 600 billion won. Still, it's a very heavy amount, but we have no choice but to go in the direction of sharing it between the government and KAI."

― Many point out that instead of Indonesia, which has repeatedly caused the problem of non-payment of development costs, joint development should be carried out with countries with strong financial capabilities, such as the Middle East.

"The development of the first phase (of air-to-air armament) is almost complete. The second stage is to add armaments such as air-to-ground, so development is relatively simple and development costs are not high. Involving other countries in the development of the second phase raises very complex issues, such as the exposure of the technology in the first phase. From the third stage of development, it is planned to go to a manned and unmanned complex system, which will cost a lot of money. From the third stage, I think it would be good to develop it with countries that are rich in both money and technology."

“KF-21은 AI기술 등 집약… 동남아 넘어 유럽도 관심”

“KF-21을 4.5세대 전투기라고 하는데, 과소평가라고 생각합니다. 4.5세대 프랑스 라팔, 유럽 유로파이터 타이푼 등과 비교하면 성능이 뛰어나거든요. 그래서 저는 5세대(완전…

www.donga.com

 

[Indos]

Alhamdulillah, many Good news for Indonesia this Week

 

[Indos]

Political Aspect

KF21 program is initiated by SBY and Korean PM in 2009. SBY party (democrat) was opposition to Jokowi government during 2014-2023.

Now Democrat has become Prabowo supporter before the election and very important for the next Government

Prabowo and AHY (Democrat Party Leader and also son of SBY, Indonesia former President)



AHY is expected to be Security Minister that will handle defense program as well.

He was in military before

 

[Beijingwalker]

KF-21 project

 

[Indos]

Korean Media still dont understand the use of KF21 prototype in Indonesia. Look like they dont have good logic

Why Indonesian Aerospace want to have 1 KF21 prototype ? It is not to produce the plane in the country. The prototype given is shown about a deal that Indonesian Aerospace is eligible to develop its own version

See Brazil Embraer produce SAAB JAS Gripen and they dont have the right to get one prototype for development purposes

 

[Indos]

KF-21 project

View attachment 59820

Dude, step by step. We know that China is already able to produce almost component of their own fighters

Dont ruin this thread dude

 

[Beijingwalker]

Dude, step by step. We know that China is already able to produce almost component of their own fighters

Dont ruin this thread dude

It's more of a Nato product, I don't know if they would trust Indonesia to be part of it.

 

[Indos]

It's more of a Nato product, I don't know if they would trust Indonesia to be part of it.

Well USA is already limiting Indonesian contribution in the second phase EMD, so this is why we want to cut our cost share. Indonesian aerospace team wants the jewel which is the knowledge acquired during development phase and since USA limit Indonesian engineers participation into 1/3 of the whole development so we only want to pay 1/3 of our previous deal

So in the end, USA has approved Indonesian participation. So no need to ask this question again.

And yes Indonesian version will not have some US components eligible for Korean, so this is also why we need to have 1 prototype so we can develop it with less US technologies

 

[Indos]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1824399453866143799

 

[Waz]

Alhamdulillah, many Good news for Indonesia this Week

What else happened bro? Good for Indonesia by the way.

 

[Waz]

KF-21 project

View attachment 59820

Pretty good considering it is a first try. They should next work on weapons.

 

[Indos]

What else happened bro? Good for Indonesia by the way.

InshaALLAH stable government for another 10 years

Indonesia’s President-elect Prabowo secures parliamentary majority

The NasDem party has announced that it will support the incoming administration of Prabowo Subianto. Read more at straitstimes.com.

www.straitstimes.com

 

[Indos]

What else happened bro? Good for Indonesia by the way.

Nasdem joins Prabowo Coalition

It could means full Gov back on Ilham Habibie R 80 program as he is seen as Nasdem golden boy (Nasdem propose him to enter West Java Governor)

Ilham wants Indonesian Aerospace join force with his company, Regio Aviasi in developing R80

R80 basic design has been completed, you can see on this video

 

[Eşbah]

Alhamdulillah, many Good news for Indonesia this Week

Why is this 'good news'?