Showcasing the Future of Drones... LIG Nex1 Participates in '2023 Drone Show Korea'

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Hwang Du-yeol] LIG Nex1 recently participated in the ‘2023 Drone Show Korea’ held at BEXCO in Haeundae, Busan.

Now in its 7th year, Drone Show Korea is the largest drone specialized exhibition in Korea, held over three days from the 23rd to the 25th.

LIG Nex1 has participated every year since 2017, except for 2020 when the exhibition was not held due to COVID-19.

At this exhibition, LIG Nex1 showcased ▲a 40kg-class payload transport multicopter drone system ▲a Multi Purpose Unmanned Helicopter (MPUH) ▲a small reconnaissance and strike hybrid drone, demonstrating its current and developing technologies and comprehensive technological capabilities.

Exhibition hall of LIG Nex1 participating in the '2023 Drone Show Korea'.

The ‘40kg-class payload transport multicopter drone system’ is being developed under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and Defense Acquisition Program Administration’s investment as part of the Defense Science Research Institute’s Civil-Military Cooperation Promotion Agency’s ‘Dual-use Technology Development Project.’

This drone applies a hybrid engine system that combines an internal combustion engine with a battery to align with eco-friendly trends and can fly for over 60 minutes.

Additionally, the drone arms are designed to fold for convenient storage and easy transport. It can be used for dual civil-military purposes, such as delivering relief supplies to isolated areas during disasters or resupplying military supplies to various units during wartime. LIG Nex1 is responsible for system integration in this project.

Multicopter-type drone for transport with a payload capacity of 40 kg.

The ‘Multi Purpose Unmanned Helicopter (MPUH)’ is a drone capable of surveillance and reconnaissance missions, able to fly for up to 6 hours on a single takeoff.

Thanks to its excellent flight performance, the military uses it as a surveillance and reconnaissance asset in drone-bot combat systems; government agencies use it for coastal surveillance, maritime search and rescue, and wildfire monitoring; and civilians are considering its use on deep-sea fishing vessels for fish school detection.

It can carry payloads up to 60kg, enabling it to perform various missions such as cargo transport, lighting, broadcasting and communication relay, and guided missile launching, depending on the mission equipment.

Its operational radius exceeds 50km, operational altitude is over 2.5km, and maximum flight speed is about 140km/h.

Like the transport multicopter drone system, it was developed through the Defense Science Research Institute’s Civil-Military Cooperation Promotion Agency’s dual-use technology development project with joint investment from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Defense Acquisition Program Administration.

'Multi Purpose Unmanned Helicopter (MPUH).'

The ‘small reconnaissance and strike hybrid drone’ is an attack drone capable of suicide attacks and has been selected for the Defense Acquisition Program Administration’s rapid demonstration acquisition project, currently being supplied to the Republic of Korea Army.

This drone applies a tilt-type drive unit allowing vertical takeoff and landing without the need for a runway, ensuring operational convenience. It is also designed and manufactured to be disassembled and stored in a backpack to perform missions regardless of terrain constraints.

Equipped with domestically produced high-performance Electro Optical (EO) cameras, Infra-red (IR) cameras, and laser rangefinders, it enables precise strikes on targets.

Lastly, the long-range and short-range products of the ‘dual-use ground-based drone protection system’ are receiving high attention as essential equipment for protecting key national facilities, due to the increasing threat of illegal drones.

Furthermore, LIG Nex1 is developing an anti-drone integrated solution technology that uses fused information from radar and RF scanners to locate targets with electro-optical cameras and perform automatic tracking. The company plans to showcase this differentiated R&D capability at the exhibition.

Kim Ji-chan, CEO of LIG Nex1, stated, “As a specialized defense industry company in Korea, LIG Nex1 has focused on developing unmanned systems optimized for future and modern warfare,” adding, “We will contribute to advancing the core capabilities of the drone-bot combat system by fully utilizing the know-how and technological expertise we have accumulated.”