![[르포] 18.6 trillion won spent to develop a Korean fighter…’The biggest project since Dangun’](https://image.chosun.com/sitedata/image/202102/28/2021022800229_0.jpg "[르포] 18.6 trillion won spent to develop a Korean fighter…’The biggest project since Dangun’")
Input 2021.03.01 12:00
Sacheon city, Gyeongnam, visited on the 24th of last month Korea Aerospace (047810)(KAI) The KF-X production work was in full swing in the fixed-wing building of the headquarters. The fixed wing wing, the size of three soccer fields (about 6,500 pyeong), was built in the’no-jugong method’ without columns and was open like a hangar. This is to flexibly arrange production lines according to the production model. Excluding some parts, most of the process from manufacturing the fighter’s fuselage to final assembly takes place here.
Il-Woo Lee, Managing Director of KAI, KF-X Division, said, “Currently, in the case of KF-X Prototype 1, 92~93% of the process has been carried out, and only the dark gray color similar to that of F15K remains.” “We are working on removing the engine from the airframe and masking the rest.” The first prototype of the KF-X 1 is ahead of the release ceremony for the public in April.
◇ 220,000 parts necessary to make the first Korean fighter KF-X
The KF-X project is called the largest weapon development project since Dangun. 8 trillion won will be spent on the development of fighter jets and 10 trillion won will be spent on the production of 120 units. This project is significant in that we directly research and develop domestic fighters that replace the old fighters F-4 and F-5 of the Air Force. Currently, more than 250 veteran workers are producing the KF-X, and KAI is planning to make a total of six prototypes by 2026 and two ground structural test bodies to be used for static and durability tests.
Therefore, accurate assembly is vital for a fighter. KAI recently introduced the Large Robot Drilling System (LRDS). It is a system that uses a computer and a sensor to find the correct point and drill a hole precisely. It took an average of 154 seconds for an existing operator to drill a hole, but with LRDS, it is reduced to 25 seconds.
In the final assembly stage, the automatic body fastening system (FASS) is used. FASS is a kind of automatic transport vehicle (AGV) that uses 11 lasers to align the individually assembled front, center, and rear fuselages in a line. It is more accurate than human-handed work and can cut work time by 80%. After Boeing in the United States, KAI is the second in the world to introduce FASS in the aircraft production line.
◇ “Economic ripple effect of about 80 trillion won… Co-development negotiations with India in progress”
In the system test building, various evaluations were in progress with the Iron Bird (an assembly for checking the detailed system of an actual fighter jet). At the time of the development of the T-50 in the past, it was a field that relied on the US infrastructure, but KAI explained that in this KFX development process, the infrastructure as well as overseas advanced countries was fully implemented with domestic technology.
The completed KF-X was 16.9m long, 4.7m high, and 11.2m wide. It was similar in shape to the US-made F35A fighter, but a bit larger. Although the F35A is the fifth generation and the KF-X is the 4.5th generation fighter, KAI explains that the operating cost of the KF-X is only half that of the F35A. The KF-X, which will complete the shipment of prototype 1 next month, is planning to complete its development in June 2026 after initial flight and supplementation work in July 2022. After that, additional armament tests are scheduled from July to 2028 of the same year.
“The production induction effect from this project is about 24.440 trillion won, the added value induction effect is about 5.9 trillion won, the technological ripple effect is about 49.5 trillion won, and the employment inducement effect is It is expected to be about 110,000 people,” he said. “Considering the KF-X performance, competing fighters, and countries whose replacement time is approaching due to the aging of the current fighters, when mass production is completed, there is a market potential of about 300 to 500. .
In addition, regarding concerns that Indonesia, which is jointly developing KF-X, may give up its business, he said, “Negotiation is continuing (with Indonesian side),” and “the process of discussing and sharing positions with each other is in progress.” . Indonesia decided to invest 1.7 trillion won, which is 20% of the total project cost, but has postponed the payment of contributions from the second half of 2017 due to economic conditions.
In the rotary wing wing of approximately 11,785m2 (5,400 pyeong), which was newly opened in February of last year, the production of Surion and small civil helicopter (LCH) was in full swing. Surion is the first Korean helicopter developed in 2013. It is a compound word of’suri’ meaning raptor and’on’ meaning 100. It can fly up to 450 km at a speed of 260 km per hour, and it is possible to maneuver stably even in bad day and night weather. You can fly in place even at the height of Mt. Baekdu (about 2750m).
What was noticed in this building was a small armed helicopter (LAH) located in a hangar. LAH is the second domestic helicopter being developed by KAI after Surion. For the purpose of replacing the army’s old attack helicopter (500MD, AH-1S), about 664.3 billion won will be invested in R&D and 6 trillion won in mass production. KAI first unveiled its first prototype in December 2018, three years since it began development in June 2015, and succeeded in its first flight in July last year.
On this day, Kim Jin-soo, the chief of the KAI Helicopter Flight Test Team, directly drives the LAH for 5 minutes and shows a slalom (obstacle avoidance technology) and pirouette (yaw rotation, a technology that rotates the body like a spinning top) after a 6-7m low-flying flight, followed by a rapid rise. He showed off his mobility. LAH, which was judged’suitable for provisional combat’ by the Defense Acquisition Program Administration in December of last year, laid the foundation for its initial mass production ahead of the plan to complete the system development in 2022.
Chief Kim said, “LAH has excellent mobility, and its internal structure such as Surion, display, test device, and control device is more than 90% similar, so existing pilots can operate it quickly and easily.” -Unmanned Teaming)’ will be applied to become a key maneuvering strategy for future wars in which troops are reduced according to the population cliff in the future.”