[Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club] Resuming the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Introduction Project for Northwest Islands Halted for 13 Years

Stagnation for 13 Years After Yeonpyeong Island Shelling Incident
Integrated Promotion of UAV Projects for Northwest Islands and Ship-Mounted Use

The stalled development project of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for the northwestern islands, which has been stagnant for the past 13 years, is being relaunched. According to government officials on the 26th, Hanwha Systems plans to equip Austria's SCHIEBEL S-300 UAV with electro-optical (EO) and infrared (IR) sensors as well as synthetic aperture radar (SAR). The project scale is 143.3 billion KRW.

Unmanned S-100 and S-300 drones unveiled by Austria's SCHIEBEL

The military began the UAV acquisition project for the northwestern islands immediately after North Korea's artillery provocation on Yeonpyeong Island in 2010. In July 2011, the military signed a purchase contract for a 'balloon-type' tactical airship. However, the project was delayed from the start. The technical agreement between the U.S. company supplying the airframe and the Israeli company supplying the cameras and radar was delayed, missing the target operational date in the second half of 2012. During the final acceptance inspection before introduction in 2013, a defect was found where information collected by the airframe was not smoothly transmitted to the ground. In December of the same year, an accident occurred where the airship's outer surface was damaged while inflating one tactical airship. Three days later, one tactical airship under acceptance inspection suddenly lost internal air and crashed. For these reasons, the tactical airship project was ultimately canceled.

Domestic Optical Equipment to be Mounted on Austria's SCHIEBEL UAV

The military has claimed that reconnaissance and surveillance could be reinforced through the Israeli IAI Heron UAVs owned by the army at the corps level. However, the Heron crashed at sea in February 2018. Moreover, two out of three unmanned reconnaissance drones used for video acquisition on the Navy's new generation intelligence ship Shinsegi were lost in crashes, further widening the surveillance gap over the northwestern islands.

Eventually, the projects for UAVs for the northwestern islands and ship-mounted UAVs were integrated to reduce procurement and maintenance costs. Hanwha Systems plans to deploy the domestically developed equipment on the S-300 UAV as soon as it is developed. The S-300 UAV measures 4.8 meters in length, 1.9 meters in height, and 0.9 meters in width. It can fly at a maximum speed of 120 knots (cruising speed 55 knots). Notably, it can carry up to 340 kg (including fuel), with a maximum takeoff weight of 660 kg. The S-300, with a payload capacity of 50 kg, can fly for up to 24 hours (4 hours with a 250 kg payload).