[Infostock Daily = Reporter Kim Jong Hyo] Korean Air announced on the 30th that it has decided to deliver its own ‘Hybrid Drone’ to the military.
To that end, Korean Air recently signed a contract with the Defense Acquisition Program Administration for a 'fast demonstration acquisition project'. The rast demonstration acquisition project is aimed at quickly applying products with creative new technologies from the private sector to the military as an weapons system, and Korean Air's Hybrid Drones are in the category of 'vertical take-off and landing drones(rotational wings) for coastal boundaries'.
Under the agreement, Korean Air will deliver six Hybrid Drones to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration at the end of October, and the military will decide on a follow-up mass production after piloting for about six months until the end of April next year.
The Hybrid Drone, which Korean Air has developed since 2016, is equipped with a hybrid engine that combines internal combustion engine and battery, and it has expanded the within 30-minute operation time of existing battery-type drones to two hours.
In addition, when an engine abnormality occurs, the power source is doubled so that it can fly with the battery alone, thereby enhancing viability.
It is also a strength that it is equipped with electronic optics(EO) and infrared(IR) cameras to capture high-resolution images and transmit them in real time, and to replace various mission equipment according to the purpose of operation.
In addition, the maximum flight altitude is increased to 500m, and the maximum flight speed and operating temperature are set at 72km and -20 ~ 45°C per hour, respectively, to improve performance more than twice that of existing drones.
Reporter Kim Jong Hyo kei1000@infostock.com
