South Korea Develops Unmanned Stealth Fighter to Accompany New KF-21 Combat Jet

Korea Aerospace Industries has showcased a conceptual air combat mission involving a formation of small unmanned stealth fighters operating alongside the KF-21 Boramae manned stealth fighter, during which the UAVs identified and attacked enemy targets and performed higher risk missions. Referred to by the firm as a “low-observable loyal wingman,” it was announced that the new UAV “minimises radar detection through its stealth design and is intended to operate in formation with the KF-21.” The aircraft were designed to allow KF-21 pilots to interact with a mission monitor and direct them to destroy targets such as hostile radar installations, which they were seen doing in the footage. This allowed the KF-21 to then launch a bombing run with a much lower risk to its survivability. The demonstration was based on a technology demonstrator version of the low observable wingman.

The fielding of unmanned ‘wingman’ aircraft is expected to be a key distinguishing feature of ‘5+ generation’ and sixth generation manned fighters from the late 2020s or early 2030s, with such UAVs being under development in the United States, China, Russia and a number of other more minor aviation industries. South Korea’s KF-21 is poised to make the country the world’s fourth to field an indigenous stealth fighter, with the low observable wingman program expected to cement its position as an emerging leader in the field of manned tactical combat aviation. The KF-21 made its first flight in July 2022, and is scheduled to enter serial production in 2026, with at least 40 scheduled to be delivered within two years and 120 by 2032. The fighter is considered less capable and has less advanced stealth capabilities than its Chinese and American rivals such as the J-20 and F-35, and is being procured in parallel to the F-35A as part of a high-low combination.

The KF-21 is expected to see over 200 ordered by the Republic of Korea Air Force, allowing it to phase out many of its older F-16 and F-5E/F fighters. The fighter’s development and that of supporting drone and cruise missile designs has occurred as North Korea has developed increasingly capable air defence systems, and as it has gained greater access to Russian defence technologies due to improving security ties. North Korea operationalised a modern radar guided air-to-air missile class in May, which is expected to revolutionise the potency of its fighter fleet, particularly when paired with the country’s increasingly advanced ground based air defences and its new airborne early warning and control system. The possibility has grown that North Korea will procure modern fighter aircraft from Russia, with modernised MiG-29s, and possibly Su-57 fifth generation fighters, thought to be among the most likely to be acquired. The intensity of the arms race on the Korean Peninsula is expected to continue to rise, with Russia and the Western world’s reliance on arms supplies from the two Koreas for use in the Ukrainian theatre having highlighted the extent to which both have stood out for the sizes and sophistication of their defence sectors.