Northwestern Islands Unmanned Aerial Vehicle is a 'Rotary Wing'

Hanwha Systems Plans Equipment Installation on S-300 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

The military is initiating a development project for an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) system to be deployed on naval vessels and the northwestern islands.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) on the 29th, the UAV designed for reconnaissance missions will be the first domestically developed rotary-wing UAV. It can operate on land or naval vessels, including the northwestern islands where constructing runways is difficult. Equipped with high-performance electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) cameras that capture ground images using visible light and multifunction radar, it can effectively carry out surveillance and reconnaissance missions regardless of weather or operational conditions. The system development project, which began last month, is led by Hanwha Systems and will receive approximately 143.3 billion KRW in funding until December 2028.

Since the northwestern islands, where the UAV will be deployed, are continuously subjected to provocations from North Korea and are known as the "powder keg of the Korean Peninsula," DAPA expects that the UAV deployment will enable early detection of enemy provocation signs and appropriate responses.

Hanwha Systems plans to equip the domestically developed equipment on the S-300 UAV as soon as it is developed and deploy it operationally. 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).

The military began the northwestern islands UAV acquisition project immediately after North Korea's shelling 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 providing the cameras and radar was delayed, pushing the target operational date beyond the second half of 2012. During the final acceptance inspection before the 2013 introduction, a defect was found where information collected by the airframe was not transmitted smoothly to the ground. In December of that year, an accident occurred where the airship's surface was damaged while inflating one tactical airship. Three days later, another tactical airship under acceptance inspection suddenly lost internal air and crashed. Due to these issues, the tactical airship project was canceled.