KF-21 and Stingray-X Official Introduction as Fighter-UCAV Combined Operation

05 Januari 2022

KF-21 and Stingray-X (image : DAPA)

The military has formalized a plan to combine the operation of a domestic fighter KF-21 and a domestic unmanned stealth fighter, the Stingray-X.

The Ministry of National Defense announced on the 23rd that this was explained in the business promotion plan for next year, which was reported in writing to President Moon Jae-in on the 20th.

 

The Ministry of National Defense said, "The name of the KF-21 was decided in the sense that it is a Korean fighter that will protect the Korean Peninsula in the 21st century." We are also working on introducing it,” he explained.

Stingray-X (local named : Kaori-X) will be operated alongside KF-21 Boramae in a similar manner as "Loyal Wingman" being developed by Boeing Australia (images : DAPA)

“The domestic stealth unmanned fighter is being developed by the National Defense Science Research Institute under the name of ‘Stingray-X’. It uses AI (artificial intelligence) to penetrate the enemy air defense network on its own, or strike the radar, and engage in a dogfight with an advanced unmanned system. "The dream and hope of a Korean-style unmanned stealth fighter based on the KF-21 platform to protect Korean airspace is approaching reality," he said.

The Ministry of National Defense also said, “The KF-21 is expected to make a big mark in the Korean aviation industry. The 21st was an opportunity to give hope that ‘it can be done’ to our lives exhausted by COVID-19. We expect to have collateral economic effects through exports in the future.”

A newly developed long-range air-to-ground missile is mounted on the KF-21.

The Ministry of National Defense introduced that "long-range air-to-ground missiles are being developed with the goal of having superior stealth performance and longer range than similar missiles in advanced countries."

The Ministry of National Defense continued, "As a next-generation weapon system with precision strike capability against key strategic objectives, it is expected to be operated by the KF-21 in the future." Its superior performance and low cost compared to Taurus will be a green light for exports.”

(NewSis)