The Korea AeroSpace Administration and the Korean National Police Agency will conduct the final demonstration test of the "illegal drone intelligent response technology development project" at Yangyang International Airport on Oct. 21. This test follows the first demonstration held at the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) in Daejeon in September and is the stage to finally verify performance in an actual airport environment.
The core goal of this demonstration is to evaluate the capability to respond to illegal drones inside and outside the 9.3-kilometer no-fly zone around the airport. The organizers will set up various threat scenarios, including drones approaching the airport and long-range intrusion drones, and plan to check the realism of the response system through a blind test in which the drone model and flight path are not disclosed in advance.
The core technology of this demonstration is an artificial intelligence (AI)-based multi-sensor fusion "illegal drone ground and aerial response system." AI fuses and analyzes data acquired from various surveillance sensors—such as radar, radio frequency (RF) scanners, and electro-optical (EO) and infrared (IR) cameras—to identify in real time the form, signal characteristics, and location information of illegal drones.
In this process, the "Drone-Cop" is deployed to take on the aerial response role. Drone-Cop is a technology that directly tracks and suppresses illegal drones in the air. A demonstration of the Korea AeroSpace Administration's electronic control takeover and safe landing guidance technology will also be conducted. This will verify a system that minimizes the threat of illegal drones and ensures the safety of nearby aircraft and people.
Another feature of the Yangyang Airport demonstration is a blind test at a real-world level. The type of drone, time of intrusion, and flight path will not be disclosed to test participants in advance, and it will be confirmed whether the system can carry out the full process of detection, identification, and neutralization even in unpredictable situations.
In addition, ground and aerial equipment will be operated simultaneously, centered on an integrated control system. By centrally controlling multiple sensors and Drone-Cops, the goal is to verify systematic operability that allows a small number of personnel to manage multiple pieces of equipment efficiently.
Kim Hyeon-dae, head of the aviation innovation division at the Korea AeroSpace Administration, said, "This demonstration is a decisive milestone to gauge whether the outcomes of this project can be immediately applied to illegal drone response systems at nationally important facilities," and added, "We plan to support the discovery of demand so that the project's outcomes can be put to practical use."