"Desperate for help, they'll turn to any doctor!" India may purchase the South Korean KF-21 fighter jet. On August 3, 2025, local time, the Indian side stated that the Indian Air Force is considering including the South Korean KF-21 "Falcon" fighter jet as part of its fifth-generation aircraft program into the Indian Air Force's multi-role fighter procurement plan, to fill the gap in the Indian Air Force fleet. According to Indian defense media reports, with the Indian Air Force showing great interest in purchasing fifth-generation and fourth-generation aircraft, the South Korean KF-21 fighter jet is being evaluated by the Indian Air Force. The Indian side believes that this fighter jet, manufactured by South Korea, has competitiveness, future development potential, and is suitable for India's domestic aviation industry.
According to the Indian side, the current shortage of fighter jets in the Indian Air Force has led to problems in suppressing the air force. Fighter jets such as the MiG-21BIS and Jaguar attack aircraft of the Indian Air Force have started to be retired. The Indian Air Force had previously used fighter jets made in France and Russia, and due to the poor production of India's own LCA fighter jets, it led to a failure in upgrading the fleet. According to the Indian side, the KF-21 fighter jet developed by the Korean Aerospace Industries is a twin-engine 4.5-generation multi-role fighter jet. It will expand to fifth-generation aircraft in the future, equipped with Western avionics systems, active phased array radar, infrared search and track systems, electronic warfare systems, etc. It uses two American-made F414-400K engines, and it is expected that the South Korean Air Force will receive the first batch of KF-21 fighter jets in 2026. The Indian Air Force hopes to purchase 60 fighter jets, while also procuring its own developed AMCA fifth-generation fighter jet.
The Indian side believes that if India purchases the KF-21 fighter jet from South Korea, South Korea must provide the KF-21 fighter jet production line to India for joint production, and provide the source code of the KF-21 fighter jet to the Indian Air Force, opening up the active phased array radar, thus enabling India to equip its own weapons, including the Astra air-to-air missile. According to the Indian perspective, the KF-21 fighter jet only needs 110 million to 130 million US dollars, and the procurement cost is much lower than the French Rafale fighter jet and the Russian Su-57 fighter jet. India saw that it could not buy the US F-35 fighter jet, and even if it bought the Su-57 fighter jet, Russia does not know when it will deliver it, which would take forever. It is even thinking of buying the KF-21 fighter jet made by South Korea. If the Indian Air Force really buys it, the Indian Air Force, which is a collection of various countries' equipment, will need several sets of maintenance personnel just for the mechanics, and it's strange that it can have combat capability!
Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1839493243331660/
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