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Korean Air KUS-FC

2028 MODERN AIRCRAFT DRONE TECHNOLOGY FUTURE FLIGHT

Korean Air KUS-FC History

To meet the ongoing needs of the Republic of Korea Air Force, Korean Air is developing an unmanned reconnaissance drone as part of the KUS-FC technology demonstration project. Its mockups were first shown to the public in 2011, and development has been slow sincethe service intends to release some content before a self-imposed target date of 2030.

Korean Air is currently seeking the necessary funding to launch an airworthiness technology demonstrator. The company also plans to further develop a combat-ready form with an internal weapons bay.

KUS-FC's previous project name was "KUS-X", when the South Korean Air Force developed a strong interest in domestic combat drones. For simplicity, the service is now centered on traditional intelligence surveillance reconnaissance (ISR) drones.

In its current form, the KUS-FC uses the hybrid tailless "wing body" planar form common to military UAVs today. The result is a triangular aircraft with an elegant silhouette and a wide main wing that doesn't require traditional vertical surfaces. Currently, the design is likely to be powered by a turbofan engine of unknown make, model and thrust. The engine is sunk into the designed fuselage, sucked in through a nose-mounted air intake, and exhausted through shielded ports at the end of the fuselage.

The retractable tricycle landing gear will constitute the ground landing gear of the aircraft. The construction is mostly a carbon fiber plastic shell on an aluminum frame. The current design is 10 meters in length and has a wingspan of 16 meters.

While the current (2020) engine composition is unknown, the Korean industry is working on a possible internal solution. The US Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-220U without afterburner is also a solid candidate to consider to speed up the project.

The battery life is estimated at 6 hours, which gives the KUS-FC relatively good "legs" in the air.

A full demo is currently planned (2020) once funding is received from the Korean government.