KFX Korean Indigenous Fighter programme

[Deino]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1280162730155139074

 

[Wyvern]

Hope this hasn't been posted already.

Fuselage of first KF-X prototype breaks cover

Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) has issued an image of the first KF-X fuselage, which is undergoing assembly in the company's Sacheon factory. The company states that the first prototype of the twin-engined jet will be rolled out by April 2021, with test flights starting in 2022. Source...

www.flightglobal.com

 

[GARGEAN]

Promise of mass production six years after first flight. I saw that too many times...

 

[helmutkohl]

Hope this hasn't been posted already.

Fuselage of first KF-X prototype breaks cover

Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) has issued an image of the first KF-X fuselage, which is undergoing assembly in the company's Sacheon factory. The company states that the first prototype of the twin-engined jet will be rolled out by April 2021, with test flights starting in 2022. Source...

www.flightglobal.com

there is a post right above you that shows the same thing
although i was hoping maybe hte flight global link might have new pics but paywall.

 

[Archibald]

Not sure, how reliable this site is but the artworks - including a twin seater I did not know before - are the best I've seen so far:

한국항공우주산업 블로그 : 네이버 블로그

blog.naver.com

View attachment 631512View attachment 631513

Nice little jet ! The supreme irony being - kind of F-35 with Superbug engines...

 

[Archibald]

What I find fascinating with non-US stealth jets (be them chinese, russians, or SEA allies): they all look like variations in shape and engines, of F-22 / F-35.
The Chinese got the "big strike F-22" with their J-20 (plus canards)
FC-31 looks like a F-35 "done right / uncompromised by VSTOL" (JAST ? did I said JAST ?)
This one from Korea looks like "F-35 met a Superbug and stole its powerplant"
Same for the Japanese demonstrator...

The irony is that F-22s are too few (180) when F-35 is, well, the F-35 (no intend to start any flame war).

 

[GARGEAN]

What I find fascinating with non-US stealth jets (be them chinese, russians, or SEA allies): they all look like variations in shape and engines, of F-22 / F-35.

You REALLY sure about that? Maybe should look at T-50 a bit more closely?

 

[Archibald]

Or maybe you could read again what I wrote to understand better.

NON US STEALTH JETS - T-50 is trainer, attack, and non-stealth, so out of this.

 

[NUSNA_Moebius]

I think he means the Su-57 that was originally designated as the T-50 during initial prototyping. It's easily the least US-like of the 5th gen jets assuming it's RCS haracteristics are even up to snuff to meet 5th gen standards. Basically a stealthified Su-27 type planform.

 

[Archibald]

AAAAAAH ok.
T-50 from Russia.
NOT
T-50 from South Korea.

Of course there are always exceptions to any rule (and annoying people, too).

 

[helmutkohl]

What I find fascinating with non-US stealth jets (be them chinese, russians, or SEA allies): they all look like variations in shape and engines, of F-22 / F-35.
The Chinese got the "big strike F-22" with their J-20 (plus canards)
FC-31 looks like a F-35 "done right / uncompromised by VSTOL" (JAST ? did I said JAST ?)
This one from Korea looks like "F-35 met a Superbug and stole its powerplant"
Same for the Japanese demonstrator...

The irony is that F-22s are too few (180) when F-35 is, well, the F-35 (no intend to start any flame war).

In general its safer to be reactionary than revolutionary.
saves them time by following an existing design rather than trying to change it with a new idea.

of the non-US jets, I think the Su-57 is probably the most unique.. but also the one that has the most people questioning its stealthiness

of all jets, the X-32 is by far the most unique flying 5th gen design..and a concept I wish some one else could explore more.

 

[GARGEAN]

Basically a stealthified Su-27 type planform.

Are we really going there again?

 

[GARGEAN]

Of course there are always exceptions to any rule (and annoying people, too).

Annoying people? Really? It wasn't me who mentioned russian stealth jets here as F-22/35 looking.

 

[Archibald]

Of course there are always exceptions to any rule (and annoying people, too).

Annoying people? Really? It wasn't me who mentioned russian stealth jets here as F-22/35 looking.

strawman...

 

[GARGEAN]

strawman...

You sure you know what that means?..
Anyways getting too offtopic.

 

[TomcatViP]

of the non-US jets, I think the Su-57 is probably the most unique.. but also the one that has the most people questioning its stealthiness

Sorry to disagree, but that would certainly be the J-20: it is unique as a concept and has a unique mission.

The 57 is amazing, yes, sparkling also... But it does what fighter aircraft had done since the good old fashioned Fokker DR1

 

[Archibald]

strawman...

You sure you know what that means?..
Anyways getting too offtopic.

Yes, i know. You joyfully picked just one small mistake among my many examples, just to be a PITA. And you keep going.

Just as you were in the CdG thread, incidentally... some resent related to this maybe ?

 

[NUSNA_Moebius]

Basically a stealthified Su-27 type planform.

Are we really going there again?

Pancake, tunnel, wide-spaced engines. LERX switched for Levcons and all other major surfaces changed to trapezoidal. It's a clear evolution from a familiar configuration.

The YF-23 is the most unique flown stealth fighter configuration so far. Not hard to believe that in numerous key areas it still remains the most effective design flown. F-35 and X-32 are unique in being the only single engine designs flown so far and packing in so much into such a small space in the actual F-35 variants remains impressive. But that was at severe costs on many fronts.....

We could argue the F-22 is an evolved F-15 configuration but that's only looking at the outside. Lockheed looked at alot of configs before settling on the central box design that has become so ubiquitous. It's understood and other countries have alot of access to F-22 photos that can serve as inspiration and influence.

 

[GARGEAN]

Pancake, tunnel, wide-spaced engines. LERX switched for Levcons and all other major surfaces changed to trapezoidal. It's a clear evolution from a familiar configuration.
...
We could argue the F-22 is an evolved F-15 configuration but that's only looking at the outside.

 

[stealthflanker]

So basically i crafted myself a KFX C-107. This hopefully be close to what would be built, still however fidelity would be limited to resolution of the reference image available to me. It's not going to need paints,textures etc, as it's for RCS approximation purpose. Then like many others i throw it to POFACETS. Set frequency to 10 GHz (X-band).


The Frontal aspect RCS appears to be quite promising (Perhaps it would be bit higher considering POFACETS actually underestimate curved surface RCS and it cannot do duct). The value in order of 0.1 sqm appears to be achievable in frontal aspect.



Also for additional interest i did another approximation this time to see the RCS fluctuation at frontal aspect.



One can see the fluctuation of RCS from frequency to frequency. It's quite jagged but show although kind of weak, dependence between wavelength and RCS. The POFACETS however or at least in my settings (PEC-no RAM) the increase or fluctuation caused by creeping and surface wave, this become important in lower frequency (where target feature is as large or smaller about half wavelength). But at high frequency regime where the feature of the target (e.g wing) is at least 10 times larger than impinging wave, it would be minor.

That however is just one of the caveat. The other is that POFACETS works for Specular RCS. Specular RCS is also known as "spike" It is the strongest RCS contributor, basically it is the "antenna mainlobe" of the feature being exposed to radar. Getting those spikes away from potential threat aspect is priority, so the enemy radar is presented with weaker lobes. However as the frequency decreased the power of the specular RCS decreases But the width of the "spike" increased.


Considering the limitation of the software i decided not to include the engine so the inlet and the exhaust is one big gaping hole basically. If i put anything inside there would be "unexplainable" spike arising from within the plane. Nonetheless I would love if anyone can point out on a "standard" on how RCS approximation can be done. Like everyone basically only "match" the size of the target with wavelength of the threat radar and maybe materials if the software supports. But none said on whether the inlet/exhaust should be blocked or can be left open so that the Resulted RCS graph is *only* from the external shaping of the target.

 

[helmutkohl]

I don't speak any Bahasa, but based on a google translate of this Indonesian article..

Apa Kabar Proyek Jet Tempur Canggih RI Bareng Korsel?

Simak penjelasan Wakil Menteri Pertahanan (Wamenhan) Sakti Wahyu Trenggono.

www.cnbcindonesia.com

it seems Indonesia MoD is very pessimistic about this project
they feel they:

• don't benefit much. Korea controls most things
• the numbers of Indonesian engineers was very limited by the Korean side
• not enough tech transfers
• locally, not enough infrastructure to accommodate this project

 

[stealthflanker]

I don't speak any Bahasa, but based on a google translate of this Indonesian article..

Apa Kabar Proyek Jet Tempur Canggih RI Bareng Korsel?

Simak penjelasan Wakil Menteri Pertahanan (Wamenhan) Sakti Wahyu Trenggono.

www.cnbcindonesia.com

it seems Indonesia MoD is very pessimistic about this project
they feel they:

• don't benefit much. Korea controls most things
• the numbers of Indonesian engineers was very limited by the Korean side
• not enough tech transfers
• locally, not enough infrastructure to accommodate this project

Yeah but can't cancel them outright as that would constitute breach of agreement.

It always amuse me tho how our media always try to portray Korea dont want to share anything etc... Well We only have like 15% of shares nothing more and that's fine. It is not like we would have the necessary or even considering our politics to actually invest on the industry. You can see the minister seems to contradict himself that Despite having "small" amount of transfers of technology. He then mentioned that We would need additional Infrastructure. Yes.. about 185 M USD would be needed., and that only for the Aircraft.

Imagine if the Korean shares say... AESA Radar technology... who's gonna build it back here in Indonesia ? There is no real foundry or factory here making Semiconductor RF Equipment, as far as i know. If we desire to make that. I did a rough calculations that over 485M USD FY2020 is required for a Foundry facility having annual capacity of 30000 Wafer for TR modules. If we turned it all into Radar we would be able to produce about 30 AESA radars annually. But then.. what else can use anything produced from there ? That's the big question.

 

[TomcatViP]

Well, if you start and prove that local production can be reliable and affordable, the risk is that some private industry would want to piggyback on that.
Not bad...

 

[aonestudio]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1286417740392210438

View: https://twitter.com/RupprechtDeino/status/1286417740392210438

 

[stealthflanker]

This is Indonesian KFX Facility building... or a part of it which would be an assembly line. Still empty atm tho.

In the other part of the building however there is a big Autoclave for processing composite materials.

 

[Wyvern]

Is the KFX anywhere near construction as of now?

 

[stealthflanker]

Is the KFX anywhere near construction as of now?

See few posts above. you will see the Korean already started construction the first prototype.

 

[aonestudio]

https://www.facebook.com/dapa.Korea/posts/3285454198180736

View: https://www.facebook.com/dapa.Korea/posts/3285454198180736

South Korea unveils new fighter jet radar designed for air dominance

A prototype of the Active Electronically Scanning Array (AESA) radar locally developed in South Korea for the country's upcoming future fighter jet was unveiled at a joint ceremony held by Agency

defence-blog.com

 

[GARGEAN]

Wonder if SK considered cooperation with Russia for that project at any stage. They took that route successfully few times already after all.

 

[GTX]

They took that route successfully few times already after all.

Such as?

 

[GARGEAN]

Such as?

KM-SAM, ballistic missiles, some place projects.

 

[kaiserd]

Such as?

KM-SAM, ballistic missiles, some place projects.

While there has been some contact/ technology sharing re: SAM technology not aware of any (at least open) Russian involvement re: South Korea’s ballistic missiles. Indeed there has been Russian opposition to South Korea’s enhancement of their ballistic missiles with allegations of Russian assistance to North Korea re: there ballistic missile (including ICBM) programs.

 

[helmutkohl]

official video of the roll out for the radar
gotta skip to near the end

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M16VQ_bHYRU&feature=emb_logo

 

[trose213]

Such as?

KM-SAM, ballistic missiles, some place projects.

While there has been some contact/ technology sharing re: SAM technology not aware of any (at least open) Russian involvement re: South Korea’s ballistic missiles. Indeed there has been Russian opposition to South Korea’s enhancement of their ballistic missiles with allegations of Russian assistance to North Korea re: there ballistic missile (including ICBM) programs.

South Korea financed the S-350 development as the KM-SAM. The L-SAM has S-400 tech and possibly S-500. The Hyunmoo-2 is essentially an Iskander.

 

[TomcatViP]

official video of the roll out for the radar
gotta skip to near the end

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M16VQ_bHYRU&feature=emb_logo

I might have missed something but how do they compare themselves regarding the competition? What's the main differences with the EL/M2052 that seems to be similarly sized?

 

[aonestudio]

Very few details have emerged about the AESA radar, which officials have described as a “state-of-the-art system capable of detecting and tracking more than 1,000 targets simultaneously”.

South Korea unveils indigenous AESA radar prototype for KF-X fighter

South Korea has unveiled an indigenous active electronically scanned-array (AESA) radar prototype for use by the Republic of Korea Air Force’s (RoKAF’s) next-generation...

www.janes.com

 

[stealthflanker]

Very few details have emerged about the AESA radar, which officials have described as a “state-of-the-art system capable of detecting and tracking more than 1,000 targets simultaneously”.

South Korea unveils indigenous AESA radar prototype for KF-X fighter

South Korea has unveiled an indigenous active electronically scanned-array (AESA) radar prototype for use by the Republic of Korea Air Force’s (RoKAF’s) next-generation...

www.janes.com

Too bad :x.

Anyway, power aperture wise. My estimates of tracking capacity at 165 km range vs 3 sqm RCS would be 36 Targets. This is a great figure. As the range closer the "tracking capacity" increases. 1000 targets track of same RCS could be attained at 71 Km.

 

[Frogfigther]

Old KF-X model(maybe C106?) RCS Data without RAM/RAS application from KAI.

And KF-X Prototype radar's TRM count. It has 1088 TRMs and its power is about 15~18 W.

South Korean military forum guessed it will have about 120+ km tracking range vs 1 sqm RCS.

Also their ultimate goal is to enhance its radar performance to be comparable to AN/APG-81.

Sources

이젠 SBS에 고맙다고 해도 될듯 - 군사 갤러리

KFX탑재시제 레이다 송수신모듈 수 추정했던걸 교차검증해서 1088개가 맞다고 확신할 수 있었고 송수신모듈 992개인 HW입증시제가 RCS 1m2 기준 최대 추적거리 1xxkm것도 알 수 있었음 - dc offici

m.dcinside.com

KF-X RCS 관련해서 - 군사 갤러리

출처 : 항공우주를 향한 꿈과 도전 - 항공우주산업(주) 20년사 항공기 저피탐 해석 개념도에서 발췌한, 지금까지 한국항공우주산업에서 유일하게 공개된 전투기 RCS 해석 자료입니다. 2016년 6월 KF-X RCS/I

m.dcinside.com

갤에 올라온 AESA 레이더들의 추정 스펙 정리해봄 - 군사 갤러리

1. 탐지거리 대 추적거리 비율은 일관적으로 85 %로 가정함.2. AN/APG-81에 탑재되는 소자는 AN/APG-79에 비해 동급 이상이라고 가정함.3. KF-X 탑재 시제 레이더의 개구면이 HW 시제의 120 %

m.dcinside.com

 

[stealthflanker]

I wish they put frequency information for that RCS measurement. Assuming X-band tho. Mine seems close (-12 dBsm)

 

[Frogfigther]

I wish they put frequency information for that RCS measurement. Assuming X-band tho. Mine seems close (-12 dBsm)

Unfortunately, the conditions for the analysis was not disclosed. However, the author who found the data thinks it was under X-band RF, and think its overall RCS figures will be distributed around 0.1 ~ 0.01 sqm w/ RAM/RAS/FSS Radome application.