At the engine test cell of Hanwha Aerospace's Changwon Plant 1, visited on the 28th of last month, an F404 engine suspended from the ceiling was pushed to maximum output, producing a cone-shaped "sonic boom" phenomenon before the eyes. It is the flame that allows a fighter jet's airframe to fly at Mach 1.5.
The government, led by the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) and the Agency for Defense Development (ADD), is pursuing the development of an advanced domestic aircraft engine to be mounted on a Korean next-generation fighter jet. The goal is to make 2040 the first year of independence in aircraft engine technology. To this end, DAPA is pushing related development projects with the aim of securing a turbofan engine in the 16,000-lbf thrust class by 2040.
"The Korean advanced aircraft engine will have direct and indirect economic effects significant enough to influence derivative engine fields such as commercial aircraft, marine and power generation, making it a core technology that will lead the future of K-defense," said Kim Sun, head of Hanwha Aerospace's aviation business division (executive vice president).
Korea launched the localization of advanced aircraft engines in 2013 and has accumulated technological capabilities step by step. Recently, the development of a 5,000-lbf class engine for medium and large unmanned aircraft has entered its final stage. If the development of a 16,000-lbf class engine succeeds in 2040 as planned, Korea will achieve independence in aircraft engine technology after 27 years. Considering that advanced aircraft engine nations took more than 40 years to secure independent technology, this amounts to shortening the development period by more than 10 years.
This is not a simple localization project. It is a strategic challenge to build an independent supply chain extending beyond the fighter jet platform to engines, materials and components, thereby enhancing export autonomy and securing an independent standing in the global defense market.
Kim Jin-hyung, a principal researcher at ADD, emphasized the significance of localizing advanced aircraft engines, saying, "Independence in aircraft engine technology is the final piece for cutting off foreign dependence and securing defense sovereignty."
