South Korea's air force shows its first production KF-21 as the Sacheon Airshow courts foreign buyers

South Korea's air force put the first production KF-21 Boramae fighter on public display on Thursday 22 October as the 2026 Sacheon Airshow opened at Sacheon Airfield in South Gyeongsang Province. A KF-21 also flew over the airfield during the opening day, The Chosun Ilbo and the technology news site Bloter reported. The show is co-hosted by the Republic of Korea Air Force, the provincial government, Sacheon City and Korea Aerospace Industries, the jet's maker, and runs until 25 October.

The KF-21 is South Korea's first domestically developed supersonic fighter. According to Bloter, KAI spent ten years and seven months developing the aircraft before rolling out the first production jet to the air force on 22 September, and 40 aircraft are due to be delivered to the service by 2028. Chosun said crowds gathered around the full-size production aircraft on the ground for photographs throughout the opening day.

The flying programme opened with the air force's Black Eagles aerobatic team, whose eight T-50 supersonic advanced trainers, also built by KAI, are scheduled to perform seven times during the four-day event. Air force special mission personnel made high-altitude parachute jumps, and the programme also included a combat search and rescue demonstration and a display by the Australian civilian aerobatic team Paul Bennett. On the ground, visitors could inspect the Cheongung-II medium-range surface-to-air missile system and Vulcan anti-aircraft guns.

This year the airshow is paired for the first time with a dedicated trade exhibition, the Global Aerospace and Defense Exhibition, known as GADEX. Chosun reported that 130 companies and institutions, 108 from South Korea and 22 from abroad, set up 283 booths across 7,250 square metres, with Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Rolls-Royce among the foreign exhibitors. THE ELEC gave a slightly different figure of 124 participating companies from 22 countries.

The organisers have built a military sales track into the event. Alongside one-to-one export meetings with about 20 global buyers, a programme tied to a meeting of air force chiefs from around the world lets visiting foreign air force delegations tour South Korean defence production lines and discuss export contracts, Chosun said. The provincial governor, Park Wan-su, said at the opening ceremony that Sacheon is the only city in the country that produces complete aircraft, and the city's mayor said the show was designed to produce real defence export results rather than only a spectacle.

KAI is using the show to outline where the KF-21 goes next. THE ELEC reported that the company's stand includes a KF-21 future evolution zone covering added weapons, electronic warfare and stealth improvements, alongside the FA-50 light fighter, the Marine Attack Helicopter, the Light Armed Helicopter and an artificial intelligence based manned and unmanned air combat system. On 23 October KAI is due to host about 80 guests, including delegations from 14 countries, at its Sacheon headquarters, where it plans to present an unmanned combat aircraft, a multipurpose drone, an air-launched drone and a small loitering munition.

Engine maker Hanwha Aerospace is showing a turbofan engine with 5,500 pounds of thrust, the Mohave short take-off and landing unmanned aircraft and tube-launched interceptor drones, THE ELEC reported, and Bloter said a fighter engine under development by the company was also on display. The opening day put the new fighter in front of visiting foreign air force delegations about a month after the first production aircraft was handed over to the South Korean air force.