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South Korea Launches $1.29B Electronic Warfare Aircraft Program to Counter Regional Air Defenses.
South Korea has approved a 1.9 trillion won program to develop a dedicated electronic warfare aircraft for the Republic of Korea Air Force, with operational deployment targeted for 2034. The move strengthens Seoul’s ability to suppress enemy air defenses and manage the electromagnetic battlespace during high-intensity conflict.
On January 20, 2026, South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) announced the launch of a 1.9 trillion won (approximately 1.29 billion dollar) program to develop a new class of dedicated electronic warfare aircraft for the Republic of Korea Air Force. In an official statement published on its website, DAPA described the Electronic Warfare Aircraft (Block-I) project as a key capability to counter increasingly sophisticated air defenses and electronic threats around the Korean Peninsula. The new platform is intended to deliver wide-area, stand-off jamming against hostile radars and communications, moving Seoul into the small group of states operating large, purpose-built electronic warfare aircraft. For South Korea’s national defense posture and for allied air operations in Northeast Asia, the decision marks a significant qualitative step in controlling the electromagnetic spectrum.
South Korea has launched a 1.29 billion dollar program to develop a dedicated electronic warfare aircraft for the Republic of Korea Air Force, aiming to deliver stand-off jamming capabilities by 2034 (Picture Source: LIG Nex1)
At the heart of the program is the creation of a large special-mission aircraft able to detect, analyse and disrupt enemy radar and communications networks over an extended area. DAPA’s announcement frames the Block-I system as a dual-role asset: in peacetime, it will monitor, characterise and catalogue electromagnetic emissions from neighbouring states; in crisis or conflict, it is expected to suppress and confuse adversary integrated air defense systems and command-and-control links through powerful, tailored jamming across multiple frequency bands. South Korean sources indicate that the aircraft will be based on a long-range business jet platform, with domestic reporting pointing to designs derived from types such as the Bombardier Global 6500 and Gulfstream G550, although DAPA has not yet publicly confirmed the final airframe. What is clear from official documents is that Block-I will be followed by a more advanced Block-II evolution after initial fielding, allowing the architecture to be upgraded as threats and technologies evolve.
The industrial organisation of the program is designed to maximise domestic know-how in electronic warfare. LIG Nex1 has been identified as the lead contractor for the mission system, responsible for designing and integrating the electronic support measures (ESM) suite and electronic attack (EA) payloads that will give the aircraft its operational effect. South Korean reporting indicates that Korean Air is expected to take charge of airframe modification and overall platform integration, leveraging its experience with special-mission aircraft and maintenance, repair and overhaul activities, although detailed workshare has not been fully disclosed in DAPA’s public statement. Earlier local reports have mentioned long-term planning assumptions that envisaged a small fleet of aircraft being inducted by the mid-2030s, but the current official communication focuses primarily on the overall budget and the target of initial deployment around 2034 rather than a fixed number of platforms. This structure underlines Seoul’s intention not only to acquire a new capability but also to consolidate a sovereign industrial base in high-end electronic warfare.
The aircraft is being conceived as a stand-off electronic attack platform optimised for long-endurance missions on the edge of heavily defended airspace. DAPA and local coverage highlight wide-area jamming as a central requirement, with the mission system intended to affect several layers of an adversary’s air defense network simultaneously, from early-warning and fire-control radars to the communication channels and data links that knit those sensors together. To support such operations, the chosen business jet platform is expected to be equipped with significantly increased electrical power generation, extensive cooling capacity and internal volume for high-power transmit/receive modules, digital signal processors and multiple operator consoles.
Concept imagery and industry reporting show arrangements with conformal antenna arrays along the fuselage and prominent ventral structures, suggesting 360-degree coverage for both detection and jamming, but the precise configuration remains subject to final design choices and may evolve as development progresses. A core objective of the program is to rely on domestically developed mission equipment, taking advantage of South Korea’s strengths in microelectronics and signal processing to handle modern, agile radar waveforms and complex, spread-spectrum communications.
The Block-I aircraft will represent a substantial evolution from the Republic of Korea Air Force’s existing electronic warfare posture. Today, electronic protection and limited jamming are mainly provided by pods carried on fighter aircraft and by allied platforms operating in and around the peninsula. These systems are effective for local self-protection and escort roles but lack the endurance, altitude and payload to systematically degrade an opponent’s integrated air defense system over a broad theatre.
The new aircraft is intended to fill this gap by orbiting outside the engagement envelopes of long-range surface-to-air missile systems, building a dynamic picture of hostile emitters and then imposing tailored jamming to open temporary “windows” of reduced detection and engagement capability. In a contingency, such a platform would deploy ahead of strike packages, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets and tankers, increasing their survivability and enabling deeper, sustained operations. Even in peacetime, regular patrols in international airspace would provide high-fidelity situational awareness of regional exercises, radar activations and changes in adversary deployment patterns.
The strategic and tactical ramifications of this investment are significant. At the tactical level, the introduction of a dedicated stand-off jamming platform provides South Korea with a powerful capability to degrade dense radar networks and disrupt mobile surface-to-air missile systems operated by potential adversaries. This capability is particularly valuable in high-intensity or rapidly escalating scenarios near the Demilitarized Zone. By targeting not only individual sensors but also the communication links connecting them, the system undermines adversary situational awareness, delays decision-making, and disrupts unit coordination, ultimately diminishing the overall effectiveness of ground-based air defenses and offensive missile operations.
On the strategic level, the program signals Seoul’s determination to sit among the limited number of air forces capable of high-end offensive electronic warfare, at a time when regional actors are fielding increasingly sophisticated air defense and anti-access/area-denial systems. It also reduces dependence on foreign, export-controlled electronic warfare technology, while reinforcing South Korea’s position as a rising defense exporter able eventually to propose complete electromagnetic warfare solutions to partners.
The Electronic Warfare Aircraft (Block-I) initiative reflects a deliberate shift in South Korea’s approach to airpower and deterrence, placing control of the electromagnetic spectrum at the centre of future operations. By committing 1.9 trillion won to a domestically led stand-off jamming capability with a planned 2034 deployment, Seoul is closing a long-recognised gap in its ability to operate against advanced air defenses and, at the same time, deepening its technological and industrial autonomy. If the program remains on track and is followed by the envisioned Block-II evolution, the Republic of Korea Air Force will gain a critical enabler for both national defense and combined operations with allies, capable of shaping the air battle from beyond visual range and well before any kinetic strike is launched.
Written by Teoman S. Nicanci – Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Teoman S. Nicanci holds degrees in Political Science, Comparative and International Politics, and International Relations and Diplomacy from leading Belgian universities, with research focused on Russian strategic behavior, defense technology, and modern warfare. He is a defense analyst at Army Recognition, specializing in the global defense industry, military armament, and emerging defense technologies.