TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian government and South Korea are finalizing the mechanism to transfer a prototype of the KF-21 Boramae fighter aircraft, which will be handed over to Indonesia once the joint development project is officially completed.
Park Seonghee, Team Leader of the Asia Team 2 International Business Development at Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), stated that the two nations have reached an agreement regarding the transfer of one KF-21 prototype. Currently, the talks are focused on the technical aspects of the transfer.
"Both governments are discussing the transfer mechanism, especially regarding the technological aspects and the timeline of the implementation," Park said at the KAI office in Sacheon, South Korea, during the Indonesian Next-Generation Journalist Network event hosted by the Korea Foundation and the Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia on Thursday, June 11, 2026.
Park noted that the KF-21 project is progressing as planned and has reached the contract finalization stage. According to him, most of the cooperative terms and conditions have already been settled by both parties.
"The program is proceeding well, and we are currently finalizing the contract," Park remarked.
He added that KAI hopes the contract finalization process will conclude shortly. Following that, KAI aims to move into the next phase of cooperation, which includes a plan to deliver 16 units of the KF-21 fighter jet to Indonesia. According to KAI, the maiden delivery of the KF-21 aircraft to the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) is scheduled to commence in September 2026.
KF-21 Development Targeted to Be Completed in June 2026
Prior to this, Indonesian Ambassador to South Korea Cecep Herawan stated that the joint development of the KF-21, which has been underway for over a decade, is targeted for completion in June 2026. A key outcome of the bilateral agreement is the handover of one prototype out of the six KF-21 aircraft that have been manufactured.
"The prototype arrangement out of the six KF-21 aircraft has been agreed upon, and one of the six prototype aircraft will be handed over to Indonesia. Hopefully, this can be realized in the near future," Cecep said during a meeting at the Indonesian Embassy in Seoul on Tuesday, June 9, 2026.
According to Cecep, Indonesia has also fulfilled its contribution to the development project. With the conclusion of the development phase, subsequent discussions will focus on leveraging the project's results and exploring the possibility of further cooperation.
"Regarding the future steps, we leave it to the decision-makers in Indonesia," he stated.
Cecep views Indonesia as one of South Korea's strategic partners in the defense industry sector, noting that bilateral cooperation in this field has spanned decades. Indonesia has been an early buyer of various South Korean defense products since 1979.
A Strategic Project for Indonesia and South Korea
The continuity of the KF-21 project was also an agenda item during a bilateral meeting between President Prabowo Subianto and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung at the South Korean Presidential Palace in April 2026.
On April 1, 2026, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto confirmed that the issue of the IFX or KF-21 was among the topics discussed by the two leaders. "So, in the bilateral meeting, one of the issues raised was indeed related to the IFX," Airlangga said.
According to him, President Prabowo reaffirmed Indonesia's commitment to sustaining the project by dispatching technical and engineering teams to South Korea.
"The President conveyed that he will soon send teams, both technical and engineering," Airlangga added.
The KF-21 is a multirole fighter aircraft developed to meet the future operational needs of the South Korean Air Force. The aircraft is projected to replace aging F-4 and F-5 fleets while bolstering South Korea's domestic defense manufacturing capabilities.
The joint fighter jet development stems from an agreement signed between Indonesia and South Korea in 2010. The project was officially launched in 2015 with an estimated investment value of 8.1 trillion won, equivalent to roughly Rp95.32 trillion.
Under the initial scheme, Indonesia committed to bearing 20 percent of the development costs. However, the project encountered challenges due to delays in Indonesia's contribution payments. In 2025, the South Korean government agreed to reduce Indonesia's financial contribution portion to around 600 billion won.
Ervana Trikarinaputri contributed to this article
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