KF-23 Chammae

KF-23 Chammae
KF-23 Chammae flies over Naju city.
Role	Air superiority fighter
Manufacturer	Korea Aerospace Industries, Ltd.
Introduction	15 December 2016
Status	In service
Produced	2013-2023

The Korea Aerospace Industries(KAI) KF-23 Chammae is a Joseon's twin-engine, all-weather, supersonic stealth fighter aircraft developed and produced for the Royal Joseon Air Force(RJAF). The KF-23 Chammae was designed as an air superiority fighter, but also incorporates ground attack, electronic warfare, and signals intelligence capabilities. The manufacturer, KAI, was responsible for all but the engines, including the airframe, weapon systems, and the final assembly of the aircraft. Hanwha Aerospace was responsible for the aircraft's engine manufacturing and installation.

The KF-23 is a critical component of the RJAF's high-end tactical airpower. the aircraft became the service's leading platform for air-to-air missions against peer adversaries.

Development

KF-23 originated from the HETF(High-End Tactical Fighter) program, which was launched to replace F-15C fighters, and supplement KF-21, which served as transitional fighter jets. The HETF program was a project to develop new tactical aircraft that can seamlessly perform missions even in extreme battlefield conditions, with the viability of existing 4th and 4.5th generation fighters in doubt due to changes in battlefield environments and advances in anti-aircraft weapons. RJAF launched the HETF project in 2007, but it actually took two more years for the project to be implemented after budgeting. The project was led by the Agency for Defense Development(ADD) and KAI.

The Air Force wanted to acquire fighter jets with electronic warfare capabilities and performance that overwhelmed all tactical aircraft of neighboring countries through the outcome of the HETF project. The Navy wanted to add the capability of taking off and landing on the CATOBAR aircraft carrier in addition to the required performance of the Air Force. In addition, both the Air Force and the Navy demanded that the HETF project's result have counter-stealth capabilities to counteract enemy stealth fighters.

The first prototype aircraft of the KF-23 flew in 2013. 6 more prototype aircraft were built after the flight of the first prototype aircraft, and the entire test flight process ended in 2015.