South Korea’s domestically developed AESA radar, designated APY-016K and intended for the KF-21 "Boramae" fighter, has become a key airborne‑sensor program in the Indo‑Pacific region. Built by the Defense Development Agency and Hanwha Systems, the radar uses GaN‑based transmit/receive modules and is reported to detect targets with a 1 m² radar cross‑section at ranges of 150‑200 km.
The APY-016K can simultaneously track air, land, sea and low‑RCS drone targets, offering modes such as SAR, GMTI, ISAR, concurrent tracking of about 20 targets and low probability of intercept. Serial production is slated to start in 2025, with 40 units planned for delivery to KF-21 aircraft by 2028.
Experts note that while the APY-016K approaches the performance of the F‑35’s AN/APG‑81 in some raw metrics, it still lags behind the U.S. system in sensor integration, network‑centric capabilities and operational maturity.