Korean Air took the opportunity to showcase its expanding Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV) development at the 2022 DX Korea Army Exhibition in Goyang, September 21-25, in the company’s expansive pavilion Occupies the central location of the KINTEX exhibition center.
At the forefront of its UCAV showcase are three KUS-LW (Korean Unmanned Systems – Loyal Wingman) concept models. Official specifications released for the first time indicate that the KUS-LW UCAV measures 10.6 m in length, 3 m in height and has a wingspan of 8.4 m.
The company would not provide further details on the required performance characteristics of the model, but noted that it will be powered by turbofan engines and is designed to perform a range of missions such as intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), strike, electronic warfare (EW) ) and escort.
Korean Air was selected on August 12 by the state-run Defense Development Agency (ADD) as the preferred bidder to develop a stealth unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for use by combat squadrons.
According to Korean Air, as part of ADD’s “Future Challenge Defense Technology Research and Development Program,” South Korea is developing a squadron of stealth drones for the first time to develop a new weapon system. It “received high marks for its technology in the first stage of the bidding process”.
Korean Air added that ADD began developing the drone squadron in November 2021 and has completed the basic design. The detailed design will be jointly carried out by ADD and the company.
“Korean Air will develop a manned-unmanned formation system in which one manned aircraft and three to four stealth drones can perform missions simultaneously,” the company said.
“UAV squadrons will not only support and escort manned aircraft, but will also be able to carry out their own missions, including surveillance, electronic jamming tactics and precision fire,” it added, noting that work will focus on developing manned-unmanned formation systems , enabling the manned aircraft to connect to three to four stealth drones during a mission. However, the company claims that stealth drones will also be able to perform missions on their own.
Korean Air also showcased an updated version of its KUS-FC tailless UCAV next-generation stealth drone concept model, which features a truncated diamond “flying wing” plane with swept outer wings and access to the trailing edge of the wing. The fuselage of the aircraft, as well as the trailing edge and upper surface of its wing sections. The model also features a dorsally mounted low-observation engine intake for its proposed turbofan engine as well as shielded exhaust and ventral payload bays.
According to the latest details provided by the company, the KUS-FC has a length of 12 m, a height of 3 m and a wingspan of 20 m. Early concept designs feature a wingspan of 16 m and a battery life of up to 6 hours.
Korean Air said earlier that it would leverage its decade of experience in developing low-observable drones with ADDs for the latest plan. Between 2010 and August 2021, the company developed a stealthless tailless drone demonstrator called Kaori-X under the sponsorship of ADD. The prototype drone made its maiden flight in September 2015 to demonstrate key technologies and processes.
The company also signed an agreement with the Korea Research Institute for Defense Technology Planning and Development (KRIT) to develop low-observable technology for next-generation drones. It is understood that its work is focused on reducing the radar cross section (RCS), which is expected to be completed in 2025. As part of the project, it is also collaborating with six local research institutes and universities, including KETI (Korea Institute of Electronics Technology) and Inha University.
by Jr Ng
