Korean Air has been selected by the state-run Defense Development Agency (ADD) on Aug. 12 as the preferred bidder to develop a stealth unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for use by combat squadrons, the company said in a statement on Aug. 16.
According to Korean Air, as part of ADD’s “Future Challenge Defense Technology Research and Development Project,” 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. The drone is tentatively named Korea Unmanned System-Loyal Wingman (KUS-LW), according to a concept model image released by 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 said it will 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
