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View all search resultsIndonesia to buy KF-21 directly from South Korea, drops FAL plan
The goverment and aircraft maker PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI) guaranteed that all investments into human resources and facilities for the KF-21 program will not go to waste as they will still be used to support national defense industry development.
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Visitors look at a KF-21 Boramae fighter jet on Oct. 17, 2025, during the Seoul International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition (ADEX) at a military airport in Seongnam, South Korea. The fighter jet was jointly developed with Indonesia as a minority partner. (AFP/Jung Yeon-je)
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ndonesia has decided to buy KF-21 Boramae (Fighting Hawks), a 4.5-generation jet fighter, directly from South Korea instead of producing it locally through a final assembly line (FAL) in Bandung, a surprising move considering the country’s hefty investment in the program.
The plan was announced by the Defense Ministry’s Defense Logistics Agency (Baloghan) chief Air Marshal Yusuf Jauhari on Friday.
“Indonesia will not conduct KF-21 joint production but will buy directly from South Korea,” he said, as quoted by Kompas.com.
Yusuf, however, did not give any reason for the change of heart in the program, which initially envisioned a joint design and joint production of the heavy, dual engine jet fighter.
Indonesia has sent engineers from state-run aircraft maker PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI) as well as officers from the Indonesian Air Force to Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) facility during the engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) phase to design KF-21, previously known as the KF-X/IF-X program.
Defense Ministry spokesman Brig. Gen. Rico Sirait said that the government had conducted an overall evaluation of the KF-21 program to ensure its benefits are still in line with national interests.
“During its development, there were program implementation dynamics affecting technology mastery phase, so an adjustment for cooperation direction is needed to provide the most benefits for Indonesia,” he told The Jakarta Post over the phone on Monday.
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