Korean UAVs rise to the fore at Seoul ADEX
A screengrab showing KAI’s concept for the tiltrotor NI-500VT unmanned aircraft. (KAI)
South Korea is one of the leading innovators in UAVs in Asia, with different concepts on display at Seoul ADEX 2021.
Two South Korean firms, in particular, are heavily involved in developing and manufacturing larger-sized UAVs for South Korea’s military – Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) and Korean Air Aerospace Division – and both were present at the Seoul ADEX exhibition held from 19-24 October.
Starting with KAI, one promotional video highlighted the NI-500VT tiltrotor UAV. It has four rotors, two tiltrotors on swivelling nacelles like the Osprey, and two more rotors on a shallow V-shaped tail. All four rotors spin during take-offs and landings, but the rear rotors spool down for horizontal flight.
The engine is mounted mid-fuselage. Fitted with
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