South Korea's strategic initiative to enhance its defense capabilities amid escalating threats from North Korea has led to the development of the KF-21 Boramae, a significant step towards military self-sufficiency.
The KF-21, which KAI is developing as part of a $6.6 billion project to replace the Republic of Korea Air Force's (RoKAR's) aging fleet of F-4 and F-5 fighters, is also being touted as a "cheaper" alternative to the American-made Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II.
With the F-35 deal seemingly off the table, there aren’t any other viable options currently available to the UAE for buying fifth-generation stealth fighters off-the-shelf