Korean Air Deploys Self-Developed 'Hybrid Drone' at Jeju City Accident Site

[Asia Economy Reporter Dongwoo Lee] Korean Air announced on the 15th that it has signed a contract with the Jeju Fire Safety Headquarters for the ‘Firefighting Tactical Drone Project’ and will supply two self-developed ‘hybrid drones.’

The hybrid drone, developed by Korean Air since 2016, is characterized by its hybrid engine that combines an internal combustion engine and a battery. While the operating time of conventional battery-type drones is 30 minutes, the hybrid drone can operate for up to 2 hours.

The hybrid drone’s performance has been improved more than twice to perform missions in various environments, reaching a maximum flight altitude of 500m and a speed of 72km/h, and it can operate normally in temperatures ranging from -20°C to 45°C. In particular, its wind resistance has been enhanced to withstand winds of 14m/s, making it suitable for the windy Jeju region.

The hybrid drone supplied by Korean Air to the Jeju Fire Safety Headquarters features a folding arm design that allows the wings to be folded and unfolded, and the fuel tank has been efficiently improved, significantly reducing flight preparation time and enhancing convenience compared to previous models. Equipped with electro-optical (EO) and infrared (IR) cameras, it captures high-resolution images and transmits them in real time, making it highly useful for firefighting tasks that require accurate on-site confirmation.

The Jeju Fire Safety Headquarters plans to utilize Korean Air’s hybrid drones by linking them with the currently operated accident management system for real-time monitoring of accident and fire sites and searching for missing persons in areas difficult for rescue teams to access. To strengthen safety accident prevention in the Jeju region, they also plan to establish a beyond-visual-line-of-sight remote monitoring system.

Korean Air has already verified the utility of hybrid drones by supplying them to Busan City and the Navy and Air Force. With the supply of the improved follow-up model with enhanced performance and convenience to the Jeju Fire Safety Headquarters this time, Korean Air is promoting their use in various fields such as the Korea Forest Service, police, public institutions, and plant industries, and plans to actively develop overseas markets as well.

Meanwhile, as a leading domestic unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) company, Korean Air is developing medium- and high-altitude reconnaissance UAVs, vertical takeoff and landing reconnaissance UAVs, long-endurance hybrid drones, and autonomous swarm drones. Additionally, it plans to actively pursue the development of total UAV solutions that can be utilized in various industries such as traffic management systems.