Korean Air said on the 16th that it signed an agreement with the Korea Research Institute for defense Technology planning and advancement (KRIT) on "open unmanned aircraft platform technology for operating multiple mission payloads," and will push research on an open unmanned aircraft that can effectively carry out diverse missions by managing and operating various types of equipment simultaneously.
The agreement was reached after four months of consultations following Korean Air's selection in August as the preferred negotiator for the project by the Korea Research Institute for defense Technology planning and advancement (KRIT). Under the agreement, Korean Air will conduct research to develop component technologies to maximize the utility of unmanned loyal wingmen through May 2029.
With this agreement, Korean Air plans to secure open technology that modularizes mission-specific sensors and equipment for installation and operation. The budget to be投入 for this research and development is about 19.3 billion won.
This research is expected to become a practical application case in the unmanned aircraft sector under the "defense unmanned systems family- and module-based (K-MOSA)" policy being pursued by the Ministry of National Defense. defense corporations will be able to mass-produce standardized unmanned aircraft equipment, and operating units will be able to maintain and repair unmanned aircraft smoothly.
To carry out the project effectively, Korean Air formed a consortium with domestic unmanned aircraft specialist organizations, including LIG Nex1, RealTimeVisual, and MNC Solution, and will also push development of mission payloads, mission effectiveness analysis, and an electronic locking device.
A Korean Air official said, "We will develop an open unmanned aircraft platform technology in a timely manner that dramatically improves the economics and operational efficiency of unmanned aircraft," adding, "We will apply the K-MOSA-based open concept to the unmanned loyal wingman system development program to lead the paradigm of future air operations."