Korea News: Indonesia will not Receive the KF-21 Boramae Fighter Prototype

21 Januari 2026

Prototype KF-21 005 (photos: Reddit)

TSAMTO --  According to a statement from the Defense Acquisition Program Agency (DAPA) of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Korea, Indonesia will not receive the prototype of the KF-21 Boramae fighter jet due to significant changes to the cooperation agreement between the two countries.

The decision stems from Indonesia's reduced financial participation in the program and the ongoing disputes that have accumulated over the past several years. The revised terms resulted in a reduction in Jakarta's contribution and the elimination of benefits.

In June 2025, Seoul and Jakarta renegotiated the terms of the joint project. Indonesia, initially responsible for a 1.6 trillion won share of the project, reduced its contribution to 600 billion won, of which the Indonesian government contributed 500 billion won last year.

As a result of the reduced participation, Indonesia lost previously agreed rights, including receiving the KF-21 005 prototype, which was planned to be transferred to the Indonesian Air Force for flight and weapons integration testing.

Jakarta's involvement in the KF-21 program was plagued by issues such as repeated payment delays, which forced the Republic of Korea to cover additional costs, as well as espionage attempts and misappropriation of intellectual property attributed to members of the Indonesian delegation. These episodes increased political and technical pressure to reconsider Indonesia's role in the development of the 4.5-generation fighter.

The cancellation of the Boramae fighter prototype delivery is considered a major blow to the Indonesian Air Force, which had hoped to use the KF-21 005 to accelerate pilot training, develop operational doctrine, and integrate domestic and foreign weapons.

Under the new terms, Indonesia will remain in the program, but with limited access to technology, prototypes, and critical development stages.

The Republic of Korea currently operates six KF-21 Boramae prototypes, which are undergoing flight testing, sensor evaluation, and air-to-air missile integration. Seoul aims to begin serial production in 2026 and achieve initial operational capability in 2028.

As previously reported by CAWAT, under the initial agreement signed by the two countries in 2015, Indonesia committed to paying 20% ​​of the fighter's total development costs, estimated at 8.1 trillion won (US$5.99 billion), by 2026. The South Korean government pledged to cover 60% of the costs, and KAI would cover the remaining 20%. In exchange for its investment, Indonesia was to receive one prototype, access to the developed technologies and know-how, and could also purchase up to 48 fighters.

In total, Indonesia was supposed to contribute approximately 1.6 trillion won. However, for various reasons, payments were irregular and occasionally suspended.

In May 2024, Jakarta initiated discussions to reduce its share of funding to 600 billion won and a corresponding reduction in the level of technology transfer. Earlier, in January 2024, Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) detained Indonesian employees while attempting to remove several flash drives containing confidential KF-21 data from its Sacheon facility.

The Republic of Korea and Indonesia have finally agreed to reduce Jakarta's stake in the joint KF-21 fighter jet development project to 600 billion won ($443 million) in June 2025.

(TSAMTO)