Korean Air and Airbus Join Forces to Develop Unmanned Helicopters

Jungwoo Park, Head of Aerospace Business Division at Korean Air (right), and Bruno Even, CEO of Airbus Helicopters, are posing for a commemorative photo after the signing ceremony on the 5th.

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] Korean Air announced on the 6th that it will pursue technological cooperation with France's Airbus to develop unmanned helicopters for the South Korean military using domestic technology.

At the signing ceremony of the "Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for Technology Cooperation on Ship-mounted and Northwest Islands Unmanned Helicopter Project" held yesterday at Korean Air headquarters, Park Jung-woo, Head of Korean Air Aerospace Business Division, and Bruno Even, CEO of Airbus Helicopters, attended. According to the agreement, the two companies will join forces to develop reconnaissance unmanned helicopters mounted on South Korean naval vessels to monitor operational areas and unmanned helicopters for reconnaissance of the Northwest Islands region.

Airbus Helicopters possesses development technology and production capabilities for the unmanned vertical takeoff and landing vehicle VSR700. Korean Air has accumulated over 20 years of unmanned aerial vehicle development expertise. In June, it established a next-generation stealth unmanned aerial vehicle development center, and in August, it was selected as the preferred negotiator for a development project led by the Agency for Defense Development.