ADEX 2019: Indonesia committed to KF-X project despite fiscal concerns
Jon Grevatt, Seoul - Jane's Defence Weekly
15 October 2019
An artist impression of the KF-X fighter aircraft. South Korea is developing the platform in partnership with Indonesia, although the latter has fallen behind on payments. Source: DAPA
More than 100 engineers from Indonesian aerospace company PT Dirgantara (PTDI) remain involved in the project with South Korea to develop the next-generation Korean Fighter eXperimental (KF-X) fighter aircraft despite growing concern about the Southeast Asian country's financial involvement in the programme.
Industry officials told
Jane's at the 2019 Seoul International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition (ADEX) that ties between PTDI at Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), which is leading the KF-X programme, remain strong even if the South Korean and Indonesian governments have yet to reach an agreement on how - and how much - Jakarta will pay towards the development project.
"We have 114 engineers working on the KF-X in Korea," said one official from KAI. "They are mainly working on the design of the aircraft but also on manufacturing processes." PTDI told
Jane's that its engineers' involvement in the programme is intended to support the company's long-term development and its ability to apply acquired skills across a range of platforms.
Industry officials would not comment directly on government-level talks intended to enable Jakarta to fund its involvement in the programme, which it refers to as IF-X. These talks started in October 2018 after Indonesia said that due to a lack of funding it wanted to renegotiate the financial arrangements that were agreed in 2015. Renegotiations were initially expected to be concluded within 12 months but have yet to be finalised.
Under the original KF-X finance agreement Indonesia is committed to pay for 20% of the total development costs of the aircraft, which are estimated at about USD8 billion. The South Korean government is committed to pay for 60% of costs, with KAI covering the remaining 20%.
https://www.janes.com/article/91903...itted-to-kf-x-project-despite-fiscal-concerns
Collins Aerospace Completes Critical Design Review for Key Power and Controls Systems for KF-X/IF-X
(Source: Collins Aerospace; issued Oct 15, 2019)
SEOUL --– Collins Aerospace Systems, a unit of United Technologies Corp. today announced it has completed Critical Design Review (CDR) for a number of key power and controls systems for the KF-X/IF-X advanced multirole fighter jet for the Republic of Korea and Indonesian Airforce. CDR represents a significant milestone in the systems’ development marking the completion of detailed design, ensuring readiness for fabrication of system components, followed by test readiness reviews in preparation for qualification testing.
Collins Aerospace is under contract with Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) to provide the fighter’s complete Environmental Control System (ECS), including air conditioning, bleed air control, cabin pressurization and liquid cooling systems. To help make the ECS easier to install and maintain, Collins Aerospace integrated the air conditioning and liquid cooling systems into a single pack to reduce size and weight. In addition to the ECS, Collins Aerospace is also providing the aircraft’s engine start system components, including the air turbine starter and flow control valve.
The KF-X/IF-X will be the first platform to host Collins Aerospace’s newest, more electric Variable Speed Constant Frequency (VSCF) generator. Designed to achieve an order of magnitude improvement over the industry average in operational reliability, the new generator is more efficient and 10 percent more power dense compared to the company’s existing VSCF generators. The VSCF will be part of the fighter’s Main Electric Power Generation System, which Collins Aerospace is working with KAES Hanwha to design, develop and produce for KAI.
“Collins is honored to work with KAI and KAES Hanwha on the KF-X/IF-X program,” said Tim White, president of Power & Controls. “Our systems are designed to help make this 4.5-gen fighter more electric, more reliable and easy to maintain. We look forward to supporting the KF-X/IF-X program in the years ahead as we continue to deepen our longstanding relationship with KAI.”
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