South Korea has started mass production of the new multi-purpose medium-altitude unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) named ‘Korean Reaper’ to increase military surveillance reach over North Korea.
The country’s largest airline, Korean Air, in joint venture with defense companies two in number, LIG Nex1 and Hanwha Systems inked a contract amounting to 471.7 billion won ($352.8 million) in December with the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA). The pact purports to see the development of state-of-the-art spy drones in place by 2028.
The ‘Korean Reaper,’ or the Korean Unmanned System (KUS-FS), has medium altitude, with a flying height from 10 to 12 kilometers above the ground and being able to take high-resolution pictures from distances up to 100.
The aircraft measures 13 meters in length and 3 meters in height and has a wingspan of 25 meters.
Unmanned of this description unmanned surveillance aircraft are fitted with varied types of payloads to do different tasks, inclusive of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions.