Defense Strategy Technology by Agency for Defense Development - ② Korean-style Stealth Unmanned Combat Aircraft Coming Soon

Successful First Flight in 2015 and Second Technology Demonstrator Project Since 2017
Accelerating R&D on Radar-Absorbing Composite Structures and Infrared-Absorbing Materials

France Neuron (Source: Jane's Defence Weekly)

US X-47B (Source: Wikipedia)

UK Taranis (Source: Jane's International Defence Review)

Stealth Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Model by the Agency for Defense Development (Source: Agency for Defense Development)

[Agency for Defense Development] Since the 1970s, the United States has initiated the development of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) capable of long-endurance flight at medium to high altitudes as replacements for manned reconnaissance aircraft like the U-2. From the late 1990s, the U.S. Air Force utilized platforms such as the Predator (RQ-1 Predator) and Global Hawk (RQ-4 Global Hawk) for intelligence gathering, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions. The Kosovo War marked a turning point in recognizing the importance of unmanned reconnaissance aircraft when the RQ-1 provided real-time battlefield information to commanders.

Since the early 2000s, the MQ-1B, a modified version of the RQ-1A equipped with the air-to-ground Hellfire missile, has been employed for real-time attack missions. From early 2004, the Reaper (MQ-9 Reaper), which features increased armament capacity, operational altitude, and speed, has been deployed and operated. However, the MQ-1B and MQ-9 have limitations due to their inferior stealth capabilities and maneuverability, making missions impossible in battlefield environments where exposure to enemy air defense radars poses significant anti-air threats.

▲Trends in Stealth Unmanned Combat Aircraft Development= Globally, stealth manned combat aircraft and long-range cruise missiles are used to neutralize enemy air defense networks. Since the late 1990s, research on stealth unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs) has been actively pursued to improve survivability and mission success rates. The primary operational goal of stealth UCAVs is to approach or penetrate high-risk enemy air defense networks, conduct attacks, and quickly withdraw, making stealth technology and high-speed performance essential. To achieve this, most stealth UCAVs adopt a highly blended flying wing design.

Representative stealth UCAV technology demonstrators include the U.S. X-47B, France's Neuron, and the United Kingdom's Taranis, all undergoing operational tests for flight performance, stealth capabilities, and mission effectiveness. Additionally, research and development efforts are reportedly underway in China, Russia, Germany, and other countries.

Because stealth UCAVs must house sensors, armaments, and fuel internally, their size and weight increase, leading to higher costs. Consequently, since 2016, the U.S. has been developing small, low-cost stealth UCAVs under the Low Cost Attritable Aircraft Technology program.

This research focuses on distributing sensors or armaments integrated into existing UCAVs across smaller UAVs, enabling individual or grouped operation of mission-required functions. This approach reduces platform size and cost compared to manned aircraft or traditional stealth UCAVs. Furthermore, development is progressing toward configurations capable of cooperating with multiple or diverse manned and unmanned combat aircraft. Notable small stealth UCAV technology demonstrators include Kratos' XQ-58A, Boeing's Airpower Teaming System, and Airbus' Remote Carrier.

▲Progress of South Korea's Stealth UCAV Development= Since 1999, the Agency for Defense Development has conducted research and development on core technologies such as stealth shaping design, radar-absorbing materials, frequency-selective radar-transmissive composite materials, radar-absorbing composite structures, and infrared-absorbing materials.

Additionally, the agency secured stealth analysis and measurement capabilities and, based on research facilities, carried out a stealth UCAV technology demonstrator project that achieved its maiden flight in 2015. Since 2017, the second phase of the technology demonstrator project has been underway, focusing on enhancing stealth performance, flight performance, and studying operational concepts for stealth UCAVs.

▲Future Plans= Stealth technology encompasses various detailed technologies, necessitating continuous research and development of core technologies to improve stealth performance. Simultaneously, applying these core technologies to platforms and conducting flight tests to verify performance and identify areas for improvement through technology demonstrator projects must continue.

Moreover, increasing the size of stealth UCAVs is necessary to accommodate diverse sensors and armaments. This requires the essential support of domestic engine research and development of appropriate size. Particularly, alongside active research and development of small stealth UCAV platforms pursued by advanced countries, core technology research for collaboration with manned combat aircraft is also needed.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.