KAI signs agreement with Northrop Grumman to develop UAVs

Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd. (KAI) said on Thursday that it signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) in relation to "technical cooperation on vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft" with Northrop Grumman, a US multinational aerospace and defense technology company, at KAI headquarters in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province, on the previous day.

The latest MOA is intended for KAI to move into the VTOL unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) market for maritime missions. The core provisions in the agreement include mutual cooperation for developing vertical take-off and landing UAVs in South Korea that can be mounted on and operated by naval destroyers.

VTOL drones for maritime missions are expected to be used for territorial defense missions such as 24/7 surveillance, reconnaissance, and target acquisition in wide maritime operational areas by being mounted on ships such as naval destroyers or coast guard patrol boats.

Northrop is the original developer of the MQ-8 Fire Scout VTOL unmanned helicopter currently used by the US Navy. Cooperation with Northrop is expected to reduce the risk and turnaround time for KAI's UAV development efforts.

"We will develop solutions to meet the rapidly growing demand for unmanned aerial vehicles, including new concept vertical take-off and landing drones," said Kim Ji-hong, head of KAI's Future Convergence Technology Institute.

Write to Ik-Hwan Kim at lovepen@hankyung.com