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 in South Korea is competitive, has future development potential, and is suitable for the Indian domestic aviation industry.

Screen capture of the Indian media report

According to the Indian side, the current shortage of fighter jets in the Indian Air Force has led to issues in suppressing forces. The Indian Air Force's MiG-21BIS and Jaguar attack aircraft have already begun to be retired. Due to the previous use of French and Russian-made fighters, and the poor production of India's own LCA fighter, the Indian Air Force has failed to upgrade its fleet. According to the Indian side, the KF-21 fighter jet developed by South Korean Aerospace Industries is a twin-engine 4.5th generation multi-role fighter jet. It will expand to fifth-generation aircraft, equipped with Western avionics systems, active electronically scanned array radar, infrared search and track system, electronic warfare system, etc. It uses two F414-400K engines made in the United States, 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 jets.

The KF-21 fighter jet from South Korea is not strictly a fifth-generation fighter

The Indian side believes that if they purchase the KF-21 fighter jet from South Korea, South Korea must provide the KF-21 fighter jet production line to India, jointly produce with India, and provide the source code of the KF-21 fighter jet to the Indian Air Force, opening up the active electronically scanned array radar so that India can equip its own weapons, including the Astra air-to-air missile. According to the Indian perspective, the KF-21 fighter jet only costs between $110 million to $130 million, which is much lower than the cost of the French Rafale fighter jet and the Russian Su-57 fighter jet. India saw that it couldn't buy the American F-35 fighter jet, even if it bought the Su-57 fighter jet, Russia doesn't know when it will deliver, it would take forever. So India wants to purchase the South Korean KF-21 fighter jet. If the Indian Air Force really buys it, the Indian Air Force, which is a collection of various countries' aircraft, would need several sets of maintenance personnel, and it's hard to imagine having combat capability.

It is not surprising that the Indian Air Force is interested in the South Korean KF-21 fighter jet

It is said that the Pakistan Air Force also plans to further increase the procurement quantity of the J-35 fighter jet to 72, and the J-10 fighter jet to 84, which will further increase pressure on India. Facing the mass production of China's J-35 fighter jet, especially after the 57th air battle, which completely refreshed the perception of the Indian military, the Indian military is now desperate and trying all sorts of ways. The South Korean "assembled" fifth-generation fighter jet can only deceive the Indian Air Force. Although the components are still under the control of the United States, South Korea's integration and production capabilities can supply the Indian Air Force. However, this assembled fighter jet is unlikely to be able to fight anyone in South Asia, probably even unable to beat the J-10CE fighter jet of the Pakistan Air Force, let alone the J-35A fighter jet that the Pakistan Air Force is about to be equipped with.

India requires South Korea to sell the KF-21 fighter jet production line

From the perspective of international arms trade, many customers do not have extreme stealth requirements. As long as the performance is acceptable and can serve as a showpiece, it is sufficient. This more practical and cost-effective stealth fighter, the KF-21, just meets such needs. But the problem is, since it is not a pure stealth fighter, why still want it? Therefore, the Indian Air Force was very excited when the Rafale was shot down, and the South Koreans were very excited. The Chinese military aircraft and the French market overlap very little, but South Korea can dig into the NATO's back door.

The Indian Air Force's MiG-21 fighter jet has already been retired

The avionics of the South Korean KF-21 fighter jet are from Honeywell in the United States, the engine is from General Electric in the United States, the radar is from Israel ELTA, the weapon system is from Britain Cobham, the seat is from Britain Martin Baker, the environmental control is from America Collins, the flight control is from Lockheed, the overall engineering technical solution is done by America Lockheed, the materials are from Thyssenkrupp, and the entire plane, South Korea probably only provides the shell and manpower assembly. The active electronically scanned array radar of the KF-21 is solved by Israel and Sweden, and the diameter of the radar is slightly smaller than that of the J-10CE, meaning fewer TR components, and the detection distance is not as good as the J-10CE, and the air superiority capability is also suppressed by the J-10C plus the Airborne Early Warning 500.

The number of J-10CE fighter jets purchased by the Pakistan Air Force will exceed 84

A large amount of American technology is involved in the South Korean KF-21 fighter jet. Countries that can buy the South Korean KF-21 fighter jet must have a very good relationship with the United States, so buying the American F-35 is not difficult. The South Korean KF-21 fighter jet can be delivered in bulk only after 2030, at which time the United States will have a stronger capacity to deliver the F-35 fighter jet. The fate of the South Korean KF-21 fighter jet is likely to be uncertain, and adding the changes caused by the Sino-US rivalry. When the F-16 fighter jet first came out, few countries had the qualifications to buy it. Later, except for a few countries, it was sold freely. American arms dealers would never allow their survival lines to be idle. With the beginning of the export of China's J-35 fighter jet, the United States will certainly launch a new fighter jet to compete.

The production of China's J-35 fighter jet has already shocked the Indian military

For the Indian military, buying the South Korean KF-21 fighter jet is more reliable than the Russian Su-57. The price of South Korean weapons is relatively reasonable, delivery is fast, and after-sales service can be guaranteed without any complicated additional conditions. In fact, the South Korean KF-21 fighter jet is indeed a good choice for India. Its performance is sufficient to deal with opponents other than us, especially facing the J-35 fighter jet produced by China, which is exported to the Pakistan Air Force. The price is moderate, the only problem is the production capacity of the South Korean KF-21 fighter jet.

Original text: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7534560991858737679/

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