If I were to ask you to name Indonesian planes, what would you say? The CN-235? Or maybe even the N-250, the pride of our 3rd president, BJ Habibie? You’d be right, but they’re decades old, aren’t they? After the 1997 Asian financial crisis, Indonesia has significantly slowed down in developing domestic aircraft. Nowadays, Indonesian Aerospace (IAe) has only done small-scale production of licensed foreign aircraft and helicopters for the Indonesian military. But that is to change with the KF-21 Boramae.
The KF-21 Boramae is a multirole fighter jet currently in development by Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), set to be introduced in 2026. The KF-21 is designed to replace the outdated fighters of the South Korean Air Force (ROKAF), namely the F-5. This puts the KF-21 as KAI’s 2nd domestic fighter jet program, following the massive success that was the FA-50. With its advanced suite of avionics, modern weapons, incorporating stealth engineering, and with a maximum speed of almost twice the speed of sound; the KF-21 symbolises South Korea’s willingness to be a major player in the aviation industry.
That’s great and all, but what does Indonesia have to do with this? Well, in July of 2010, the Indonesian and South Korean governments struck a deal where Indonesia is to fund 20% of the program in return for joint system development, access to technical data, production sharing and the 5th KF-21 prototype. As part of these deals, IAe sent 100 Indonesian engineers to take part in designing the airframe as well as the construction of a joint research facility in Daejeon, South Korea.
This marks a new chapter in Indonesia’s aviation industry – the revival of the long-lost dream, a sign that Indonesia is willing to give the aviation industry another shot. Let’s see what this could possibly affect Indonesia in the future.
Revival of Indonesia’s Aviation Industry
Every year, thousands of aerospace engineers graduate, hoping to be engineers who contribute to the next big thing. Unfortunately, those who are from Indonesia do not live in a country that has a high demand for their expertise. After funding for Industri Pesawat Terbang Nusantara (IPTN, now IAe) was cut after the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997, there were only a limited number of Aerospace Engineering jobs left. This has led to high unemployment rates among aerospace engineers and brain drain to countries with sophisticated aviation industries, such as the USA, France, Germany, and the UK.
Many people who would become famous Indonesian aerospace engineers, such as BJ Habibie and Nurtanio Pringgoadisuryo, had to go abroad to continue their studies and to pursue their careers. For example, Habibie went to Germany and ended up working for Messcherschmitt-Bölkow, a famed German aerospace company now part of the aviation giant Airbus.
Our engineers now have the chance to also go abroad to study, but not only in theory, but also practically. The direct hands-on experience in designing such a complex fighter jet, like those of the KF-21, will teach invaluable lessons in Aerospace Engineering for the 100 Indonesian engineers involved. What this means, upon the engineers’ return to Indonesia, IAe would have gained a great deal of knowledge concerning designing and engineering aircraft that they can take advantage of and teach the next generation of aspiring engineers.
While we do lack the knowledge and infrastructure to make aeroplanes, it’s not because Indonesia doesn’t have a demand for aviation; quite the contrary, even. According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), in 2023 alone, an estimated 15 million people departed Indonesia on international flights, and a whopping 67 million domestic passengers. That is a massive domestic aviation market, which is completely dominated by Western giants such as Boeing and Airbus.
If the KF-21 proves to be a success, the shared production and co-development of the aircraft would establish the needed technology, infrastructure, and knowledge that is needed to create aircraft domestically. Paired with the massive demand of the Indonesian market, if done correctly, it would be a very profitable industry that could bring back thousands of well-paying jobs and keep our aerospace engineers in Indonesia. We have a lot of successful domestic companies; we have made our own cars, tanks, and ships, so why don’t we look up at the sky?
Does the colour of the sky mean anything special to you? It does to me. A hell of a lot. When I close my eyes, the sky in my dreams is a deep, dark blue. And maybe, one day, for us Indonesians, we won’t need to dream about it.