Despite obstacles, South Korea accelerates drone development
CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand - Despite a recent incident with an Israeli-built drone, South Korea's military is pushing ahead with unmanned technology, including a faithful stealth wing designed to accompany the air force's new KF-21 Boramae fighter jets.
The incident occurred on 17 March, when a Korean Army IAI Heron-1 drone went off the runway while landing in Yangju, subsequently colliding with a parked Surion helicopter. Both aircraft were declared lost, meaning the army has now lost all three of its Herons in accidents.
Nevertheless, the country is under pressure to accelerate its drone plans - and for reasons that go beyond immediate military equipment considerations.
Kim Jae Yeop, senior researcher at the Sungkyun Institute for Global Strategy in Seoul, told Defense News that South Korea's low birth rate, among the lowest in the world, is becoming a serious problem.
"The number of regular troops in the armed forces, which is currently around 500,000, will most likely decrease to less than 400,000 in the next decade," he said.
"As a result," Kim explained, "Seoul is taking active measures to expand the role of unmanned military systems to compensate for troop reductions. They can be acquired on a large scale at a lower cost and without risking lives on missions."
A major programme saw Korean Air unveil a new faithful wing technology demonstrator - called the Low Observable Unmanned Wingman System, or LOWUS - on 25 February.
The turbofan stealth LOWUS, funded by the Defence Development Agency from 2021, was unveiled at the Korean Air Tech Center in Pusan. Its first flight is scheduled to take place this year, before teaming piloted and unmanned flight tests in 2027.
Equipped with an internal weapons hold and looking similar to the US Valkyrie XQ-58A, Korean Air indicates a length of 10.4m and a wingspan of 9.4m for the aircraft.
As with similar faithful wing concepts proposed by other major powers, the idea for drones is to perform missions ranging from attack to surveillance, from electronic warfare to escort.
The LOWUS is likely to have a domestic engine and active electronically scanned radar. Korean Air gained experience with the necessary stealth technologies by developing the KUS-FC integrated-wing drone, or Kaori-X, which first flew in 2015.
In the future, the Korean Air Force is expected to introduce squadrons consisting of piloted fighters and faithful wing.
"Considering the fact that only a small number of countries such as the US, Australia and Russia have produced and tested similar systems, LOWUS highlights Seoul's technological achievements," Kim said.
Another programme currently underway includes the search for stray munitions for Korean special forces units. A platform will be selected later this year, and Seoul is allocating around USD 22 million for this acquisition.
Foreign types such as the Switchblade 600 and Hero 120 are being considered, with the aim of providing special forces with attack drones they can use independently against North Korean invaders without the need for external fire support.
Published by Condoralex
Born Alessandro Generotti, C.le Maj. Parachutist on leave. Military Parachutist Patent no. 192806. 186th RGT Par. Folgore/5th BTG. Par. El Alamein/XIII Cp. Par. Condor.
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