The defense ministers of the UAE and South Korea met last Friday to discuss cooperation between their defense industries. The emirates could see the KF-21 Boramae as an alternative to the US F-35.
According to Yonhap news agency, South Korean Defense Minister Suh Wook met with his United Arab Emirates (UAE) counterpart, Mohammad Ahmed Al Bowardi, in Seoul on Friday 18 to discuss cooperation in the arms industry and other issues.
The meeting came two months after the UAE signed a preliminary agreement to acquire South Korea’s medium-range surface-to-air missile system (M-SAM).
Suh expressed his gratitude to the UAE minister for the decision to acquire the Korean anti-aircraft system. He added that South Korea will continue to help the UAE armed forces obtain related operational capabilities.
After the talks, they visited Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) in Sacheon, 440 kilometers south of Seoul, as the UAE expressed interest in South Korea’s T-50 trainer aircraft (although it recently selected the Chinese L-15 trainer), KF-21 fighter, LAH light armed helicopter, and other systems.
Korea as an alternative partner
Historically, the UAE Air Force drew its weapons from two sources, two historical partners, Europe (particularly France) and the U.S. The UAE is currently in the process of renewing its fleet of combat aircraft, for which it turned first to its traditional sources.
The Dassault Rafale was chosen to replace its Mirage 2000-9, of which it will acquire some 80 aircraft. And for the eventual replacement of its F-16 block 60, it was intended to incorporate the Lockheed Martin F-35A. However, U.S. reluctance to finalize the sale of the stealth fighter forced the Emirates to look for alternatives.
One of the possibilities was to turn to Russia. There had already been purchases of war material from that origin. For instance the BMP-3 armored vehicles and the Pantsir air defense systems, whose development was, at least in part, financed by the UAE.
And according to some rumors that have been circulating for years, the Russian Checkmate fifth-generation fighter project was also co-financed by the UAE. That after Russia itself, the first (and so far only) international show where the Checkmate was promoted was the Dubai Air Show 2021, does little to disprove this rumor. But the invasion of Ukraine should make any partnership with Russia politically unfeasible at this time.
Therefore, the UAE must look for some «non-traditional» partner that will allow it to continue modernizing its armed forces while, through technology transfer, nurturing its growing national defense industry, and Korea could fill that niche.
With no F-35 Lightning II and Checkmate on the horizon, the KF-21 could prove to be a good opportunity for the UAE Air Force to continue with its technology renewal plans, while its industry joins a project that is fully underway, low-risk, with several prototypes under construction, and with the prospect of receiving a significant transfer of Korean technology and know-how.
And Korea and KAI could also benefit from the addition of a new cost-sharing partner. This will come up timely, especially asIndonesia, which had committed to funding 20% of the KF-X project, incurred in repeated payment delays.
Finally, while Indonesia remains officially involved with South Korea in the development of the KF-21, its recent contract to procure Rafale aircraft and its intention to bring in the Boeing F-15EX, suggest that it may not be able to honor its commitments to Korea.
Potentially, bringing the UAE into the KF-21 program could prove to be a good strategy for all involved parts.
