South Korea and the United Arab Emirates have conducted a joint test of Seoul’s domestically developed KF-21 Boramae fighter at Sacheon Air Base in Gyeongsangnam-do, highlighting their deepening defense partnership. The flight follows an April 2025 letter of intent between the two countries to explore “comprehensive cooperation” on the KF-21 program.
This marks a continuation of South Korea’s outreach for joint development projects with partners in Southeast Asia and the Middle East, ahead of the KF-21’s scheduled induction into South Korea’s armed forces by the decade’s end.
While the agreement does not confirm whether the UAE will purchase the aircraft, sources suggest Abu Dhabi’s participation points to strong interest in acquiring the platform. The Sacheon demonstration came after tests of the sixth KF-21 prototype, which evaluated combat readiness and flight control systems.
The KF-21 program has logged more than 1,300 sorties—about 70 percent of the planned Block 1 prototype test flights. Seoul intends to deploy up to 120 KF-21s by the early 2030s, starting with the first 20 deliveries between 2026 and 2027 to replace its aging US-built F-4 and F-5 fighter fleets.
