The air forces of South Korea and the United Arab Emirates have entered a pact related to the developmental Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) KF-21 fighter.
The letter of intent will allow the UAE to witness future exercises involving the twin-engined type, says the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF).
The agreement will see the two parties engage in “comprehensive cooperation” around the type, with UAE personnel visiting future ROKAF KF-21 units.
The agreement was signed in Sacheon between ROKAF chief of staff General Lee Young-su and UAE air force commander Rashed Al Shamsi, who is on a visit to the north Asian nation.
In addition, UAE Brigadier General Azzan Alnuaimi, head of the UAE’s Air Force Warfare Center, had a ride in the back seat of a KF-21 prototype – two of the test fleet’s six jets have a back seat.
The KF-21 is expected to enter ROKAF service at the end of 2026.
No mention was made about the MC-X tactical transport. In early 2023, KAI signed a memorandum of understanding with the UAE’s Tawazan Council, which handles defence procurement for the Middle East country, to jointly develop a “next generation multi-mission cargo aircraft”.
The UAE has a clear interest in boosting its airpower capabilities and has 80 Dassault Aviation Rafales on order.
In the dying days of the first administration of US President Donald Trump, Abu Dhabi was cleared to obtain 50 Lockheed Martin F-35As through the US government’s Foreign Military Sales process. This deal fell through in late 2021, however, with the UAE unable to come to an agreement with the Biden administration.
Abu Dhabi has also reportedly expressed interest in the Chengdu J-20, but it is not clear if Beijing is keen to sell the advanced type.
At the 2015 Dubai air show, AVIC took the very rare move of hosting a media presentation where it suggested that it was looking for international partners for the J-31/ FC-31. Subsequently, this programme evolved indigenously into the J-35A, which appeared at the 2024 iteration of China’s Zhuhai air show.
Abu Dhabi is clearly in touch with Beijing: in late 2023 the UAE’s defence ministry confirmed that it finalised a contract to obtain a dozen Hongdu L-15 jet trainers.
Media reports suggest that the UAE may also be interested in the Turkish Aerospace Industries Kaan, another developmental type.
Cirium, a data analytics company, indicates that the UAE has 137 in-service combat aircraft, divided between 59 Lockheed F-16E/Fs and 78 Dassault Mirage 2000s. The average age of the F-16E/F fleet is 19.5 years, and the average age of the Mirage fleet is 27.5 years.
