South Korea is taking a decisive step into the future of aerial combat. The country is actively approaching the deployment of a new unmanned aircraft system that will fly in conjunction with the new KF-21 Boramae fighter. The goal is not just to add another drone, but to create a real "family" in the sky, where man and machine work as one, expanding the capabilities of the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) by orders of magnitude.
Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), the developer of the KF-21, recently released a demo video that looks like footage from an action movie, but it's a real concept for the future of combat. The simulation shows how a transport aircraft releases a group of inconspicuous drones, which then rush forward, escorting a KF-21 fighter jet. It's not just flying in formation, it's a combat team.
Imagine: one pilot in the cockpit of a KF-21, and around him — four drones, the so-called "wingmen" (loyal wingmen). They fly ahead, scan space, find targets, attack enemy radars and planes, while risking not the pilot, but the equipment. The fighter itself is keeping a safe distance at this time, commanding drones and delivering decisive strikes when the situation clears up.
This is a new level of human-machine interaction: the pilot becomes the "conductor of the orchestra," and the drones become his eyes, ears, and fists. This approach makes it possible to significantly reduce the risks for the crew, increase the control area and strike more accurately and faster.
The drones in the video look like compact, stealth-optimized vehicles — stealthy, maneuverable, with their own radars and weapons. They are able to operate autonomously, but under the control of the KF-21 pilot, which makes the entire group flexible and resilient. Even if one drone fails, the rest will continue the mission.
This concept directly competes with similar developments in the USA (for example, Skyborg), Great Britain (Tempest) and China. South Korea, therefore, is not just catching up — it is showing that it can create advanced solutions on its own. And the KF-21 with drones is not a fantasy on paper, but a real stage in the development of national defense.
In the coming years, such "pilot-drone tandems" may become the norm. In the meantime, South Korea has already shown what the air war of tomorrow will look like: one man in the cockpit, and an army of smart cars in the sky.
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