New partnership targets VTOL UAS market
A new partnership between Hankuk Carbon of Korea and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) will target the development and manufacture of vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) UAS.
The companies have signed a memorandum of agreement to establish a joint venture for the work, under which both companies will co-develop and co-manufacture a VTOL UAS in the 200-300kg category.
According to IAI the UAS will ‘target 90% of domestic localisation’ and will be developed to meet an unspecified Republic of Korea customer’s needs
Down the line the companies expect to consider adding ship borne take-off and landing capability to the FE-Panther. This activity will be conducted by the joint venture by the end of 2018.
In October 2015, Hankuk Carbon displayed the 67kg-Hybrid VTOL UAV, FE-Panther for the first time. The UAV, powered by lithium polymer batteries and a gasoline engine, has an endurance of 8 hours flight time with 6kg of payload. It can fly a maximum radius 130km at a maximum speed of 100km/h.
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
More from Uncrewed Vehicles
-
Cummings Aerospace showcases Hellhound loitering munition designed for US Army’s LASSO programme (video)
Cummings Aerospace presented its turbojet-powered Hellhound loitering munition at SOF Week 2025, offering a man-portable solution aligned with the US Army’s LASSO requirements.
-
SOF Week 2025: PDW unveils attritable FPV drone for SOF operations at scale
PDW has revealed its Attritable Multirotor First Person View drone at SOF Week 2025, offering special operations forces a low-cost, rapidly deployable platform for strike and ISR missions, inspired by battlefield lessons from Ukraine.
-
SOF Week 2025: Teledyne FLIR white paper provides guidance on reusable loitering munitions
Teledyne FLIR is highlighting the emerging requirements for 'recoverable and re-usable' loitering munitions across the contemporary operating environment during this week’s SOF Week conference in Tampa, Florida.
-
SOF Week 2025: Kraken Technology group debuts K3 Scout USV in North America
High-performance maritime industry player Kraken Technology Group, based in the UK, has used the SOF Week conference in Tampa, Florida this week to debut its K3 Scout uncrewed surface vessel (USV) to the North American market.
-
Palladyne AI and Red Cat to demonstrate capabilities for autonomous drone swarms to the US military
Red Cat and Palladyne AI recently conducted a cross-platform collaborative flight involving three diverse heterogeneous drones.
-
Jammer resistant drone designs spark search for countermeasures
The Russia-Ukraine conflict has driven another stage of evolution for drones and the counter measures to defend against them.