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A Report from "The Korea Economic Daily" News Publication said that the new South Korean made KF-21 Boramae Aircraft has been shortlisted together with the F-16 Fighting Falcon for the Philippines' Multi-Role Fighter (MRF) Program.
If this is correct, then it seems that the JAS-39 Gripen is now out of the Program, at least for now, which would be sort of a "Karma" already since by all Indications, it seemed that in late 2021, the Administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte was ready to sign a Contract for the Aircraft.
However, Sweden had reportedly quietly turned down the Request due to the perceived "Human Rights" Issue of the Duterte Administration. I have discussed and made several Videos about this already before, just search thru my Videos for the Gripen-related Videos.
So it seems that the Gripen went from a "Done Deal" already to now out of the Race altogether. At any rate, regarding the KF-21, I did get to talk to a Representative of its Manufacturer, "Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI)" during the recent Asian Defense and Security (ADAS) Event in Pasay.
My main Question to them was, "When can they deliver the KF-21 to an Export Customer like the Philippines?" And to my surprise, the Representative said they can deliver it in 2026 if the Philippines wants to.
He was saying that South Korea is willing to swap the orders for the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) to the Philippines, hence making the 2026 delivery a possibility. The latest News that I have read is that the ROKAF just several Months ago had signed a Contract for the Initial Production of the KF-21 worth Usd 1.41 billion for twenty Aircraft, or around Usd 70.5 million per Aircraft.
Delivery of these is set to start at the end of 2026, so the Timeline seems right to what the KAI Representative said. The Korea Economic Daily also wrote that an initial ten Aircraft worth Usd 1.1 billion, or Usd 110 million each is being targeted by the Philippines as an initial order, so again that seems to jibe with what the Rep said since it means half of the twenty could go to the Philippines if needed.
I expect the Competition to be still tight though, because I think that an F-16 order could serve as a Window for a possible shot at the F-35 Lightning II Stealth Fighter Aircraft later on, which now seems to be in reach with the Philippines’ upgraded Budget for the MRF. Remember that the United States (US) Company Lockheed Martin Corporation makes both Aircraft.
As for the Boramae, I think its a great Aircraft, but if the Philippines gets one this early then it runs the risk of getting an Aircraft that is still untested in Service. Remember that despite the extensive testing of the six KF-21 Prototypes right now, there will still likely be something that the Manufacturer has overlooked once it goes into actual Military Service.
Also this initial Batch of the KF-21 will be the Block One which will be limited to Air-to-Air Guided Weapons only. It will be the next Production Batch, the Block Two which will have Air-to-Ground and other Guided Weapons Capability.
The Block One of course can be upgraded to Block Two, but this will likely mean additional Costs and downtime for the Aircraft as the upgrade is being made. Also signing the Contract for the KF-21 will be in violation of current Philippine Procurement Laws since technically it hasn’t entered Service yet with the Country that manufactures it, but I am not sure if the new Procurement Law for the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) will allow it.
As for the Gripen, I sympathize with its Manufacturer, Saab AB since they tried so hard and for so long to sell it to the Philippines, they were the Manufacturer that exerted the most effort for the Sale.
Its just too bad that they themselves were the Victim of the bad Foreign Policy of their own Country Sweden which prevented them from what should have been a sure Sale already.
Meanwhile, I hope you enjoyed seeing the Pictures of the Scale Model of the KF-21 that I took during the ADAS 2024 Event. It was shown with the Manned-Unmanned Teaming (MUM-T) Drones which will eventually be incorporated with it later. Each KF-21 will be able to control at least three of these Drones while it is in Flight.
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| Karma, Gripen out, only KF-21 vs. F-16 for Philippines? “KF-21 can be delivered in 2026” – KAI |
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