KF-21 Boramae fighter jet test flights prompt Indonesia to order 48 as Poland nears decision
July 12, 2025
Two key customers for the KF-21 Boramae fighter jet have just climbed into the cockpit, literally.
Senior air force officials from Indonesia and Poland have each conducted test flights in South Korea’s domestically-developed fighter, as Seoul steps up efforts to secure export orders for the jet.
Major General Ireneusz Nowak, Chief of the Polish Air Force, flew in the rear seat of a twin-seat KF-21 during a visit to Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) facilities in Sacheon on 26 June 2025.
Indonesia confirms KF-21 order
Following the flights, KAI confirmed a formal order for 48 KF-21s from Indonesia, under a revised funding and development agreement. The update cements Jakarta’s long-standing, but recently uncertain, role as South Korea’s primary partner on the KF-X programme.
the commitment comes after years of stalled payments and renegotiations. The new agreement, signed in June during the IndoDefense 2025 exhibition, reduces Jakarta’s contribution from ₩1.6 trillion ($1.15 billion) to ₩600 billion ($430 million).
It also scales back its technology transfer, but crucially keeps the IF-X programme alive, with deliveries expected from 2026 onward.
But Jakarta is hedging its bets. Indonesia is set to receive its first Dassault Rafale fighters in early 2026 as part of a $8 billion deal, and has signed an MoU for 24 F-15EX jets from Boeing.
It is also reportedly weighing a proposal to buy Chinese J-10C aircraft, and in June signed an agreement to acquire 48 of Turkey’s next-generation KAAN fighters, with deliveries from 2026.
Is Poland moving closer to purchasing the KF-21 Boramae fighter jet?
Poland remains uncommitted, although it has already ordered 48 FA-50 light fighters from KAI in a deal worth approximately $3 billion.
In the past, it has publicly expressed interest in joining the KF-21 Boramae programme not just as a customer but potentially as an industrial partner, with state-owned defence firm PGZ exploring avenues for co-production or component manufacture.
The KF-21 fits Poland’s wider strategic shift toward diversifying and rapidly modernizing its air force amid escalating tensions in Eastern Europe. Alongside the Korean jet, Warsaw is also weighing the Eurofighter Typhoon and Boeing F-15EX, both of which are being pitched with strong industrial offset packages.
At the same time, Poland has already committed to 32 F-35As, but delays in delivery and constraints on expanding that order have left the Ministry of National Defence exploring additional heavy fighter options to bridge capability gaps in the late 2020s and early 2030s.
While no firm decision has been made, Poland’s Air Force Chief taking the back seat of a KF-21 during a test flight in June combined with KAI’s strong delivery record on the FA-50 suggests growing trust in Korea’s aerospace industry. A Polish decision is expected within the next 12–18 months, as part of a broader airpower procurement review.
Progress on the KF-21 Boramae fighter jet
For South Korea, the timing of these high-profile flights is crucial. The KF-21 entered low-rate production in 2024, with the Republic of Korea Air Force set to receive its first aircraft in 2026.
On 27 June 2025, KAI and South Korea’s DAPA finalised a $1.76 billion contract for 20 additional KF‑21 Boramae fighters, doubling the initial 20-jet order from June 2024
Seoul aims to produce at least 120 jets by 2032 and hopes to turn the KF-21 into a serious export contender.
Whether Poland will commit to buying the KF-21 is still unclear. But by putting their pilots in the air, both countries have signalled that South Korea’s new-generation fighter is a serious player in the global arms market.
