Korean Air has announced that it has successfully developed and
tested an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) using local technology.
The UAV was developed with research funding from the ministry of
commerce, industry and energy. It can stay up in the air for
two-and-a-half hours, and has an operational radius of about 40
km. Less than five people can manage this remote-controlled
plane, 97 per cent of whose equipment was made locally, the
company said. Korean Air, Korea's largest airline, has assembled
UH-60 Black Hawk military helicopters and runs maintenance
services for both civilian and military customers. The company
said the UAV took almost three years to produce, has a 26-X
magnification zoom camera for daytime observation and is highly
portable, since three UAVs and support equipment, including
wireless control panels, can be transported on two 3.5-ton
trucks. Further development of the UAV will give it short
takeoff capability, so it can be launched almost anywhere, and
forward-aimed infrared cameras for