Korean UAS

Not for the first time an Asian flying wing is shown sporting skids, quite why they would do that we are not sure. Retractable undercarriages are readily available. The drag incurred with skids would cripple endurance and speed.

Korean Air (KAL), the national flag carrier, has been selected as the preferred bidder to develop a domestic medium-altitude unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) Monday. KAL defeated Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI).

The selection was made during DAPA’s defense procurement meeting Sept. 7, an agency official said.

Around 30 UAVs will be deployed with the Army’s division-level units beginning 2014, as part of efforts to boost the country’s intelligence-gathering, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities in tandem with the planned transition of wartime operational control from the United States to South Korea in 2015.

About 30 billion won ($26 million) will be spent to develop the UAV, said the official.

“DAPA and KAL’s aerospace division are consulting over the final requirements for the division-level UAV,” the official said, requesting not to be identified.

KAL offers its KUS-9 model made of carbon-fiber reinforced plastic.

The aircraft is said to have a boom-mounted tail and lands by flying into a net at a speed as low as 90 kilometers per hour.

The KUS-9 has a service ceiling of four kilometers and a maximum speed of 200 kilometers per hour. It has an endurance of six hours and a maximum range for communications of 60 kilometers.

DAPA scrapped the Specialization and Departmentalization System in 2008. The system had virtually limited non-defense companies’ participation in defense procurement contracts.

Since the rule change, KAL has successfully entered the military aircraft market, in particular the UAV sector, which had been monopolized by KAI.

Last June, KAL was selected by the Agency for Defense Development, to research and develop a concept of an indigenous unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) for the exploratory research and development phase.

The company had also been chosen in December 2008 to develop a medium-altitude UAV to be operational after 2016. KAI had competed for both programs.