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| Meteor Missile on South Korea's KF-21 Boramae fighter |
Seoul - In its maiden test flight, the KF-21 Boramae was equipped with the European 'Meteor' air-to-air missile. Equipped with these missiles, it proves the KF-21 Boramae is able to compete with other modern fighter jets. Call it the Dassault Rafale and the Eurofighter Typhoon which have the same missile.
Quoted from news.sbs.co.kr, the first prototype of the KF-21 Boramae flew equipped with the strongest air-to-air missile, namely Meteor. The Meteor missile has a range of 200 km and a speed of 4.5 times the speed of sound to highlight the attack power of the KF-21 Boramae.
According to Leo Alfano/MBDA Korea/Singapore General Representative, the KF-21 Boramae can be integrated with the Meteor system in mass production later. They explained that they will complete the integration of the Meteor and KF-21 systems so that the KF-21 can be put into service from 2026, the initial electrification period.
Meanwhile, there are also plans to attach the Taurus to the KF-21 Boramae. The Taurus itself is a super-precision air-to-surface missile with a range of more than 500 km. This is a plan that is also being worked out to jointly develop and install the KF-21.
If armed with the Meteor air-to-air and Taurus air-to-ground, the KF-21 Boramae is expected to have armament competitiveness comparable to the European Rafale and the American F-35.
Quoted from MBDA Systems, Meteor is the next generation of Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missile (BVRAAM) systems. This missile is designed to revolutionize air-to-air combat in the 21st century. Guided by a state-of-the-art active radar seeker, Meteor provides all-weather capability to strike a variety of targets. Ranging from agile fast jets to small unmanned aerial vehicles and cruise missiles. It is also designed to meet the most stringent requirements making it capable of operating in tough environments.
This weapon is also equipped with data link communication. Aimed at meeting the needs of a network-centric environment, where Meteor can be operated using third-party data allowing pilots to have the most flexible weapon systems. This is why the Meteor fits perfectly with the KF-21 Boramae which will indeed be used in the future.
The KF-21 Boramae, a 4.5 generation fighter, is indeed designed to beat 4th generation fighters such as the F-16. It does this by adding stealth performance to avionics equipment such as AESA radar and infrared trackers. This component serves to detect land, sea and air targets within a radius of up to hundreds of kilometers.
After conducting more than 2,200 test flights over the next four years, mass production will begin in 2026. In addition to 120 units for the Korean Air Force, South Korea is also aiming for exports by showing off its attack power.