Arab Defense website – August 10, 2025: The Ministry of Defense in the UAE announced, in an official statement, that Lieutenant General Ibrahim Nasser Al -Alawi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Defense, met the Minister of Defense in the Republic of Korea, Ann Jio Back.
The ministry explained that, on the sidelines of the meeting, the Undersecretary visited the “Sacheion” air base, where it inspected the first model of the Korean fighter KF-21, and participated in a joint airplane on board the FA-50 fighter, accompanied by the first team, Lee Yong Su, Chief of Staff of the Korean Air Force, in the framework of a review of the national capabilities of locally manufactured Korean aircraft.
The statement added that this participation comes as part of an official visit by a high -level Emirati delegation to South Korea, and includes a series of meetings and events that aim to enhance defense cooperation and exchange experiences between the two countries in the areas of common concern.
His Excellency Lieutenant General Ibrahim Nasser Al-Alawi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Defense, met with His Excellency Ann Jio Back, the Korean Defense Minister, and on the sidelines of the meeting he visited the Sacheon Air Force Base, where His Excellency conducted a tour on the first model of the KF-21 plane, and he also participated in a joint sortie with the first team, Lee Yong Su, president … pic.twitter.com/OueF9ZTjqN
– Ministry of Defense | Mod UAE (@modgovae) August 8, 2025
The UAE shows great interest in the advanced KF-21 Korean fighter
The UAE’s interest in the Korean Korean fighter is the KF-21 with a wide media follow-up, especially in light of the continued ambiguity on Indonesia’s financial commitment to the project of developing the first homemade combat plane in South Korea.
Analysts believe that the growing defense cooperation between Seoul and Abu Dhabi may represent a turning point in this joint project, which is estimated at billions of dollars and has been suffering from delays in payment and reducing financing from the Indonesian side.
According to the administration of the Korean Defense Vision Program (DAPA), an Emirati military delegation headed by Major General Rashid Mohammed Al Shamsi, Commander of the UAE Air Force and Air Defense, met with the head of the administration, Siuk Jong-Gon, in Seoul, on April 17, 2025, to discuss ways to enhance defense cooperation. The meeting came after the delegation’s visit to the headquarters of the Korean Air Industries Company (KAI) developed to the KF-21 fighter in the city of Sichon in the southern province of Gyengang, where Brigadier General Azzan Al-Nuaimi, commander of the UAE Air War Center, participated in a test flight to assess the capabilities of the plane.
On the previous day, Emirati officials held talks with the Chief of Staff of the South Korean Air Force, Lieutenant-General Lee Young-Sso, during which a letter of intention to comprehensive cooperation on the KF-21 fighter was signed, with an agreement to hold periodic meetings, a precedent in the history of military relations between South Korea and a state from the Middle East. An official in the Korean Air Force said that the agreement includes the possibility of the UAE participating in future training programs on the KF-21 and visits to the operating units of the plane.
This cooperation is not the first of its kind between the two countries, as the UAE has previously signed a contract to purchase the Korean Air Defense system Chongong-2 medium-term at 4 trillion Won, to become the first foreign country to acquire a local anti-missile system from South Korea.
The Emirati interest in the KF-21 file comes at a time when the Indonesian commitment to the project is still in doubt, although its development is scheduled to be completed in 2026, with the start of handing over the Korean Air Force in the end of the same year. When the project was launched in 2015, Jakarta agreed to fund 20% of the cost of development of 8.1 trillion Won ($ 5.7 billion) for 48 IF-X aircraft, the Indonesian version of the fighter, by transporting technology.
However, the participation of Indonesia remained a matter of questions, as it only paid about 300 billion o’clock, and did not provide a clear plan to pay its arrears, but rather in May 2024 she suggested that it reduced its contribution significantly. In August of the same year, the defense acquisition program management agreed to reduce the Jakarta’s financial share of 1.6 trillion WNA to only 600 billion WON – or about a third of the original amount – with a reduction in the level of technology transfer.
The situation increased complicated in a security accident in February 2024, when an Indonesian employee was seized at Kai company trying to produce a storage unit containing secret data from the fighter, and the investigation of the accident is still ongoing.
A source in the defense industry, who preferred not to be identified, said that Korea did not take a strict stance towards Indonesia because the delivery of 48 aircraft is an important factor in the global promotion of the project, noting that cooperation with the UAE may open new export horizons that reduce dependence on Jakarta.
On the other hand, the defense acquisition program management confirmed that the UAE has not yet announced its desire to formally join the project, and that the discussions are still continuing, while Seoul continues its negotiations with Indonesia, which has expressed its willingness to sign an average agreement that reflects its reduced contribution after the end of the security investigation.
Korean doubts are strengthened with Indonesia’s expansion in its defensive partnerships, as it signed in January 2024 contracts to buy 42 Rafale fighters from France, and announced its participation in the Turkish Fifth Fighter Program (Kaan) and the purchase of 48 units of it. However, the program management stressed that Jakarta has not requested any amendment to its share of IF-X aircraft or its financial contribution as a result of these partnerships.
The article appeared, does the UAE approach the acquisition of the South Korean KF-21 fighters? First on the Arab defense site.
