KF-25 Geomdogsuli

KF-25 Geomdogsuli
KF-25 flying over Sacheon, Gyeongsangnam-do province.
Role	Air superiority fighter, Sixth-generation fighter
National origin	Joseon
Manufacturer	Korea Aerospace Industries
First flight	6 March 2024 (2024-03-06)
Introduction	2025(Planned)
Primary user	Royal Joseon Air Forces
Produced	2025(Planned)-
Number built	1,400-2,200(Planned)
Developed from	AF-05

KF-25 Geomdogsuli is an single-seat, twin-engine, supersonic all-weather stealth fighter aircraft developed for the Royal Joseon Air Forces(RJAF). The KF-25 fighter jet is designed to have air superiority, ground attack, electronic warfare, and signals intelligence capabilities as a product of the RJAF's NGF-3 program. The main contractor, KAI, built most of the airframe and weapon systems, while the program partner, Hanwha Defense, provided radar systems and other avionics systems.

KF-25 first flew in March 2024 and completed its 30-minute flight on the first flight without incident. RJAF will purchase 1,400 KF-25s, while Royal Joseon Navy(RJN) will purchase up to 800 KF-25s after a thorough review.

Design

Radar

KF-25 uses the AN/APG-07 Multi-Band Radar, which is manufactured by Hanwha Defense. The AN/APG-07 Multi-Band Radar is a radar that uses a wide range of frequencies, including X-Band and L-Band, and it can effectively detect 5th-generation fighter jets. In addition, AN/APG-07 irradiates radar beams of various wavelengths when detecting enemies, making it difficult for the enemy fighter's RWR(Radar Homing And Warning Receiver) to detect the radar operation of AN/APG-07, and the fighter can lock-on enemies without enemy knowing.

Stealth

KF-25 has multi-spectrum stealth. The stealth capabilities of the 5th generation fighter jets are relatively easy to detect on L-Band and S-Band radars because they are designed to have stealth capabilities on X-Band radars. However, KF-25 with multi-spectrum stealth capabilities cannot be easily detected on L-Band, S-Band, and UHF band radars as well as X-Band.

Artificial Intelligence

KF-25 is equipped with the MSA(Military Standard Artificial Intelligence)-01 AI(Artificial Intelligence) developed by Hanwha Defense. The MSA-01 assists pilots in combat by screening the risk of targets, performing optimized electronic warfare through battlefield analysis, and performing ECCM(Electronic Counter-countermeasures) to distinguish between enemy interference radio waves and real radio waves.

In the future, the improved version of KF-25 will be a UCAV(Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle) equipped with AI with more improved performance and a high level of autonomy.

Linkage with UCAVs

KF-25 controls up to 8 KMAQ-2 UCAVs and can engage in cooperative combat against them. Typically, a pilot controls the UCAVs, but if necessary, KF-25's AI can control the UCAVs to carry out combat. In this case, the AI recognizes the situation on the battlefield, devises optimal tactics for the UCAVs, and commands them.

Laser Weapons

KF-25 can generate more power because it has a higher-powered engine compared to the 5th-generation and lower-generation fighter jets. The AI uses improved-performance coolers to sufficiently cool the engine and efficiently distribute the power generated by the engine, helping KF-25 to perform more functions.

KF-25 is designed to operate tactical high-energy laser(THEL) weapons using improved power generation capabilities. According to the Air Force's plan, KF-25 will be equipped with 80-110 kW laser weapons, which will be used to intercept enemy air-to-air weapons. The laser weapon to be equipped with KF-25 has successfully completed test fire in 2023, and will be miniaturized by 2026 to be equipped with KF-25.

Operators

• Royal Joseon Armed Forces : 2,200(Planned) - RJAF(Royal Joseon Air Forces) will purchase a total of 1,400 KF-25s and RJN(Royal Joseon Navy) will purchase a total of 800 KF-25s and deploy them to practice.

Specifications

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Length: 22.92 m
• Wingspan: 16.56 m
• Height: 5.30 m
• Empty weight: 20,700 kg
• Gross weight: 30,620 kg
• Max takeoff weight: 41,000 kg
• Fuel capacity: 9,500 kg (20,943 lb) internally
• Powerplant: 2 x Hanwha Aerospace JT-501 augmented turbofans, 36,000 lbf thrust each dry, 45,000 lbf with afterburner

Performance

• Maximum speed: Mach 3.2, (3,951.36 km/h) at high altitude
• Supercruise: Mach 2.1, (2,593.08 km/h) at high altitude
• Range: 1,600 nmi (1,800 mi, 3,000 km) or more with 2 external fuel tanks
• Combat range: 3,160 km, 2,810 km in supercruise
• Ferry range: 6,450 km
• Service ceiling: 65,000 ft (20,000 m)
• g limits: +11.0/−3.0

Armament

• Gun: 1× 20 mm M61A2 Vulcan rotary cannon, 520 rounds
• Air-to-air mission loadout(Internal weapons bays)
  • 8 x AIM-120C/D AMRAAM or KAIM-3 + 2 x AIM-9M/X Sidewinder
• Air-to-ground mission loadout(Internal weapons bays)
  • 2 x 2,000 lb JDAM + 2 x AIM-120C/D AMRAAM or KAIM-3 + 2 x AIM-9M/X Sidewinder
  • 4 x 1,000 lb JDAM + 2 x AIM-120C/D AMRAAM or KAIM-3 + 2 x AIM-9M/X Sidewinder
  • 2 x 2,000 lb GBU-24 Paveway III + 2 x AIM-120C/D AMRAAM or KAIM-3 + 2 x AIM-9M/X Sidewinder
  • 4 x 500 lb Paveway IV + 2 x AIM-120C/D AMRAAM or KAIM-3 + 2 x AIM-9M/X Sidewinder
  • 4 x 1,000 lb GBU-16 Paveway II + 2 x AIM-120C/D AMRAAM or KAIM-3 + 2 x AIM-9M/X Sidewinder
  • 16 x 250 lb GBU-39 SDB + 2 x AIM-120C/D AMRAAM or KAIM-3 + 2 x AIM-9M/X Sidewinder
  • 4 x AGM-158 JASSM + 2 x AIM-120C/D AMRAAM or KAIM-3 + 2 x AIM-9M/X Sidewinder
  • 4 x AGM-88G AARGM-ER Block 4 + 2 x AIM-120C/D AMRAAM or KAIM-3 + 2 x AIM-9M/X Sidewinder
  • 4 x Hyeon Mu-6B + 2 x AIM-120C/D AMRAAM or KAIM-3 + 2 x AIM-9M/X Sidewinder
• Air-to-ship mission loadout(Internal weapons bays)
  • 4 x NGAM + 2 x AIM-120C/D AMRAAM or KAIM-3 + 2 x AIM-9M/X Sidewinder
  • 4 x ASM-1100K + 2 x AIM-120C/D AMRAAM or KAIM-3 + 2 x AIM-9M/X Sidewinder
  • 4 x AGM-158C LRASM + 2 x AIM-120C/D AMRAAM or KAIM-3 + 2 x AIM-9M/X Sidewinder
  • 4 x Joint Strike Missile (JSM) + 2 x AIM-120C/D AMRAAM or KAIM-3 + 2 x AIM-9M/X Sidewinder

Avionics

• AN/APG-07 Multi-Band(X-Band/L-Band/S-Band/UHF band) AESA Radar
  • 254 miles (410 km) against 1 m2 targets (estimated range), more than 385 miles (620 km) in narrow beams
• AN/AAR-02 Missile Launch Detector (MLD)
• AN/ALR-015 Electronic warfare system/electronic countermeasures system
  • 300 nautical miles (555 km) or more detection range for radar warning receiver (RWR)
• AN/AAQ-05 EEOTS (Enhanced Electro-Optical Targeting System)
  • 236 miles (380 km) or more detection range