Korean Air begins producing reconnaissance drone for South’s military

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — Three South Korean companies have started mass producing a medium-altitude reconnaissance drone for the country’s Air Force.

The government’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration announced the work Jan. 25 amid efforts to bolster surveillance of North Korea.

The government inked the procurement deal Dec. 21 with prime contractor Korean Air Aerospace Division, plus subsystem partners LIG Nex1 and Hanwha Systems. According to DAPA, the 471.7 billion won (U.S. $353.6 million) contract will see Korean Air “sequentially deliver” an undisclosed quantity of unmanned aircraft to the South Korean Air Force. Delivery is expected to continue into 2028.

Korean Air refers to this aircraft as the KUS-FS, whereas DAPA calls it a medium-altitude unmanned aerial vehicle.

According to specifications released by the original equipment manufacturer, the platform has a 25-meter (82-foot) wingspan and length of 13 meters (43 feet). A Korean Air engineer told Defense News at the Seoul ADEX trade show in October that the aircraft’s endurance exceeds 30 hours. A Hanwha Aerospace-made 1,200-horsepower turboprop engine offers a cruise speed of approximately 190 knots (219 mph).

Equipped with satellite communications technology as well as Ku-band and ultra-high frequency-band line-of-sight data links, operators can control the drone from either a fixed-site ground control station or a trailer-mounted, 40-foot container for greater mobility.

The aircraft includes a LIG Nex1 X-band synthetic aperture radar, and can perform intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; electronic warfare; signals intelligence missions; and communications relay in midair.

Four underwing hardpoints are visible on the prototype, indicating the unarmed drone may evolve into a combat-capable UAV.

DAPA said in a news release that the platform is South Korea’s first domestically developed strategic UAV. “It is expected that the Korean military’s independent surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities will advance dramatically in the future,” the agency stated, given the drone can perform real-time monitoring of neighboring North Korea.

Work on this project began 16 years ago under the aegis of the Agency for Defense Development. The UAV’s maiden flight occurred in 2012, with a Korean Air official telling Defense News that it has since undergone “hundreds of test flights.” Testing was supposed to wrap up in 2019, but the schedule was delayed several years to ensure the drone’s reliablility before it entered service, the representative explained.

Development concluded in March 2022, at which time it was determined to be suitable for operations. Governmental approval to proceed with production was subsequently granted last August.

“We expect that the mass production project for the MUAV will improve our military’s surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities, and contribute to the increase in defense industry exports in the future,” Kim Tae-gon, director of DAPA’s advanced technology division, said in the agency’s release.

Indeed, the drone’s export potential is important to the government, although DAPA suggested other national agencies will eventually operate modified variants, specifically the Korea Forest Service for monitoring fires and the Korea Coast Guard. However, an industry source told Defense News that such agencies do not have enough money to buy and operate such sophisticated systems.

Gordon Arthur is an Asia correspondent for Defense News. After a 20-year stint working in Hong Kong, he now resides in New Zealand. He has attended military exercises and defense exhibitions in about 20 countries around the Asia-Pacific region.

新西兰基督城——三家韩国公司已开始为韩国空军批量生产中空侦察无人机。

美国政府国防采办计划管理局于 1 月 25 日宣布了这项工作，旨在加强对朝鲜的监视。

韩国政府于12月21日与主承包商大韩航空航天公司（Karéi Air Aerospace Division）以及子系统合作伙伴LIG Nex1和韩华系统公司（Hanwha Systems）签署了采购协议。据韩国国防采办计划管理局（DAPA）称，这份价值4717亿韩元（约合3.536亿美元）的合同将使大韩航空“分批”向韩国空军交付数量未公开的无人机。预计交付工作将持续到2028年。

大韩航空将这款飞机称为 KUS-FS，而 DAPA 则称其为中空无人机。

根据原设备制造商公布的规格，该平台翼展25米（82英尺），机身长13米（43英尺）。大韩航空的一位工程师在10月份首尔国际防务展（ADEX）上告诉《防务新闻》，该飞机的续航时间超过30小时。一台由韩华航空航天公司制造的1200马力涡轮螺旋桨发动机可提供约190节（219英里/小时）的巡航速度。

该无人机配备了卫星通信技术以及 Ku 波段和超高频段视距数据链路，操作员可以从固定地面控制站或拖车式 40 英尺集装箱控制无人机，从而实现更大的移动性。

该飞机配备 LIG Nex1 X 波段合成孔径雷达，可执行情报、监视和侦察；电子战；信号情报任务；以及空中通信中继。

原型机上可以看到四个机翼下方的挂点，这表明这款无武装无人机可能会发展成为具备作战能力的无人机。

韩国国防采办计划管理局（DAPA）在一份新闻稿中表示，该平台是韩国首款自主研发的战略无人机。“鉴于该无人机能够对邻国朝鲜进行实时监控，预计韩国军方的独立监视和侦察能力未来将得到显著提升，”该机构指出。

该项目始于16年前，由韩国国防发展局主导。无人机于2012年首飞，大韩航空一位官员告诉《防务新闻》，此后该无人机已进行了“数百次试飞”。这位官员解释说，测试原计划于2019年完成，但为了确保无人机在投入使用前具备可靠性，测试进度被推迟了数年。

该项目开发工作于2022年3月完成，当时认定其适合运营。政府随后于去年8月批准了该项目的生产计划。

“我们预计，微型无人机的大规模生产项目将提高我军的监视和侦察能力，并有助于未来国防工业出口的增长，”国防采办计划管理局（DAPA）先进技术部门主管金泰坤在该机构发布的新闻稿中表示。

事实上，无人机的出口潜力对政府至关重要，尽管国防采办计划管理局（DAPA）表示，其他国家机构最终也会使用改进型无人机，例如韩国林业厅用于监测火灾，韩国海警署也将会使用改进型无人机。然而，一位业内人士告诉《防务新闻》，这些机构没有足够的资金来购买和运营如此复杂的系统。

戈登·阿瑟是《防务新闻》的亚洲特派记者。在香港工作20年后，他现居新西兰。他曾到访亚太地区约20个国家，参加过军事演习和防务展览。