Israeli, South Korean firms forming JV for UAV production

Hankuk Carbon, a Korean composite manufacturer, and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) have signed a MOA (Memorandum of Agreement) to establish a Joint Venture to develop, manufacture, and sale Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) Unmanned Air Vehicle (UAV).

Both companies will co-develop and co-manufacture the next generation VTOL UAV. The Joint Venture will begin by developing up to 200~300Kg MTOW. The next generation VTOL UAV will target 90% of domestic localization and will be developed according to the ROK customer’s needs.

Furthermore, HC and IAI are considering adding ship-borne takeoff and landing capability to the FE-Panther. This activity will be done in the JV by end of the 2018. The companies assume based on the Teal Group forecasts that the potential market for the VTOL Naval UAVs is around $4.3billion for next 10 years from 2015 to 2024.