KF-101 Parangsae
| KF-101 Parangsae | |
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| KF-101 Parangsae flies over Taebaek City, Gangwon-do Province | |
| Role | Stealth aircraft Multirole combat aircraft |
| National origin |  Joseon
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| Manufacturer | Daesung Aerospace,. Inc. |
| First flight | February 7th, 2028 |
| Introduction | 15 March 2030 |
| Status | In service |
| Primary user | Royal Joseon Navy |
| Produced | 2030-Present |
The Daesung Aerospace KF-101 Parangsae is a single-seat, single-engine, stealth multirole combat aircraft designed for air superiority and strike missions. It is also designed to be suitable for vertical and short-range take-off and landing(STOVL). Ministry of Defense plans to buy 248 KF-101s through 2035, which will represent the bulk of the crewed STOVL aviation of the Royal Joseon Navy for several decades.
Like all other combat equipment and vehicles in the Royal Joseon Armed Forces, the KF-24 is also integrated into the Joseon's Battle Management System(BMS), 'Gongmyeong-2E,' sharing real-time information about battlefields and changes in conditions with other units and aircraft, vehicles, and ships.
Development
The KF-101's previous generation model, the KF-100, was delayed from developing subsequent models during its 50-plus years of operation, which led to critical wear and aging on the aircraft. Furthermore, the subsonic aircraft, the KF-100, was no longer suitable for modern battlefields. The Navy, which sought to reduce maintenance and purchase costs for the next generation of fighter jets by completing a joint fighter project with the Air Force, submitted a requirement institution to the Ministry of Defense to develop its own model after facing criticism that it was no longer possible to delay developing a follow-up model for the KF-100.
In response, the Ministry of Defense selected Daesung Aerospace as its partner and started developing a new STOVL fighter jet. Daesung Aerospace designed a new model based on the KF-24 design, and succeeded in shortening the development period. The first time the prototype aircraft of the KF-101 went on test flights was in 2028, three years after its development began.
Design
Avionics
The KF-101's AN/APG-05 radar can detect objects of size 1m^2 at a distance of 320km. The active scanning radar AN/APG-02 uses 1,200 semiconductor microwave modules (T/W) with a maximum output of 8 watts and a weight of 20g to fire radar beams of different wavelengths. Launching radar beams of these different wavelengths makes it difficult for the enemy fighter's Radar Homing And Warning Receiver (RWR) to detect KF-101's radar operation, and KF-101 can Lock-on the enemy without the enemy knowing it.
AN/APG-05 is highly resistant to DRFM jammer attacks due to enhanced electronic protection capabilities, can organically change frequencies or patterns of radio waves, and radio algorithms are also very complex, reducing the risk of exposure to locations through radio backtracking by enemy ESM equipment or Passive radar. The AN/APG-05 radar can also detect smaller targets, such as inbound missiles and can track air targets beyond the range of the aircraft's air-to-air missiles.
The KF-101 Chammae's EOTS is responsible for exploring the approximate location of enemy stealth targets detected by KF-101 using L-Band and X-Band radars in more detail, identifying detailed location information of enemy stealth targets, and guiding radar-guided missiles, including AIM-120D, to enemy stealth targets. The EOTS mounted on the KF-101 has a detection range of 150 kilometers, and if necessary, the KF-101 can perform BVR(Beyond-visual-range) air combat using only EOTS without radar operation.
Stealth
The KF-101's radar cross-section (RCS) is minimized through careful shaping of the airframe and the use of radar-absorbent materials (RAM), visible measures to reduce RCS include alignment of edges and continuous curvature of surfaces, serration of skin panels, and the masking of the engine face and turbine. Additionally, the KF-101's diverterless supersonic inlet (DSI) uses a compression bump and forward-swept cowl rather than a splitter gap or bleed system to divert the boundary layer away from the inlet duct, eliminating the diverter cavity and further reducing radar signature. The RCS of the KF-101 has been characterized as lower than a metal golf ball at certain frequencies and angles.
The entire fuselage of the KF-101 is coated with absorbers made of metamaterial. Since the metamaterial can tailor the common waves such as light, electromagnetic waves, and sound waves, it can implement stealth capabilities for multiple bands of waves. The radio absorbers used in KF-101 are designed to ensure stealth capabilities for radar waves in the L-Band, S-Band, and UHF bands as well as X-Band. This allows KF-101 to implement stealth capabilities for radar propagation in all bands.
To disguise aircraft's RCS, the KF-101 can mount 4 Luneburg lens reflectors.
Helmet
The Vision Systems International helmet display is a key piece of the KF-101's human-machine interface. Instead of the head-up display mounted atop the dashboard of earlier fighters, the HMDS puts flight and combat information on the helmet visor, allowing the pilot to see it no matter which way they are facing. Infrared and night vision imagery from the Distributed Aperture System can be displayed directly on the HMDS and enables the pilot to "see through" the aircraft. The HMDS allows a KF-101 pilot to fire missiles at targets even when the nose of the aircraft is pointing elsewhere by cuing missile seekers at high angles off-boresight.
Armament
Despite being an STOVL fighter, the KF-101 was able to secure a large internal armament bay through the efficient deployment of the engine. the KF-101 has two internal weapons bays. 2 internal weapons bays can be carry with 6 air-to-air or 2 air-to-air missiles and 2 air-to-surface armaments/standoff weapons. The KF-101 can use 6 external weapons stations for missions that do not require stealth.
Engine
The Hanwha Aerospace JT-208 for the KF-101 incorporates the Shaft-Driven Lift Fan (SDLF) to allow STOVL operations. It consists of the lift fan, drive shaft, two roll posts, and a "three-bearing swivel module" (3BSM). The nozzle features three bearings resembling a short cylinder with nonparallel bases. As the toothed edges are rotated by motors, the nozzle swivels from being linear with the engine to being perpendicular. The thrust vectoring 3BSM nozzle allows the main engine exhaust to be deflected downward at the tail of the aircraft and is moved by a "fueldraulic" actuator that uses pressurized fuel as the working fluid.
Unlike the KF-100's engine that entirely uses direct engine thrust for lift, the KF-101's system augments the swivel nozzle's thrust with the lift fan; the fan is powered by the low-pressure turbine through a drive shaft when engaged with a clutch and placed near the front of the aircraft to provide a torque countering that of the 3BSM nozzle. Roll control during slow flight is achieved by diverting unheated engine bypass air through wing-mounted thrust nozzles called roll posts.
Protection
The KF-101 has military-grade protection against non-nuclear and nuclear shock wave EMPs.
Operators
Royal Joseon Armed Forces
Royal Joseon Navy: 148 in service. A total of 248 units will be operated.
Specifications
General characteristics
- Crew: 1
- Length: 15.6m (51.2ft)
- Wingspan: 10.7m (35ft)
- Height: 4.36m (14.3ft)
- Empty weight: 14,651kg (32,300lb)
- Max takeoff weight: 31,751kg (70,000lb)
- Fuel capacity: 6,125kg (13,500lb) internally
- Powerplant: 1 x Hanwha Aerospace JT-208, 27,500 lbf thrust dry, 42,000 lbf with afterburner
Performance
- Maximum speed:
- Mach 1.50 at high altitude
- Mach 1.01 at sea level
- Range:
- Combat range: 833km
- Service ceiling: 50,000 ft (15,000 m)
- g limits: +9.5
Armament
- Gun: 1× 20 mm M61A2 Vulcan rotary cannon, 230 rounds
- Air-to-air mission loadout(Internal weapons bays)
- 6 x AIM-120C/D AMRAAM or KAIM-3
- 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 1,000 lb JDAM + 2 x AIM-120C/D AMRAAM or KAIM-3
- 2 x 2,000 lb GBU-24 Paveway III + 2 x AIM-120C/D AMRAAM or KAIM-3
- 2 x 500 lb Paveway IV + 2 x AIM-120C/D AMRAAM or KAIM-3
- 2 x 1,000 lb GBU-16 Paveway II + 2 x AIM-120C/D AMRAAM or KAIM-3
- 8 x 250 lb GBU-39 SDB + 2 x AIM-120C/D AMRAAM or KAIM-3
- 2 x AGM-158 JASSM + 2 x AIM-120C/D AMRAAM or KAIM-3
- Air-to-ship mission loadout(Internal weapons bays)
Avionics
- AN/APG-05 X-Band AESA Radar
- AN/ALR-94 RWR
- KAN/AAQ-04 EOTS
- KAN/ASQ-23 "Witch" Electronic Warfare System
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