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RQ-105K KUS-FS / KUS-15 ‘Korean Reaper’
mid-altitude unmanned aerial vehicle (MUAV)

Primarily developed by ADD and Korean Air’s aerospace division, the project to build the homegrown KUS-15 mid-altitude unmanned aerial vehicle (MUAV), was conceived in 2008. Adapted from the U.S. General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper drone. around 488.4 billion won had been invested in the project for a deployment deadline in 2020.

The MALE UAV, developed in-house by Korean Air, features a high-performance sensor for real-time surveillance on key enemy targets. It is the Korean army’s strategic weapon system, which flies above the altitude of Korean domestic commercial flights and implements real-time surveillance and reconnaissance on key targets.

The development plan was initiated and promoted in 2006 by the Roh Moo-hyun administration. The ambitious 2006 program for a propeller-driven, long-endurance mid-altitude UAV was nearly scrapped in 2011 in the face of criticism that it overlapped with Seoul’s plan to adopt Northrop Grumman’s RQ-4 Global Hawks high-altitude spy planes, though the effory was restarted in 2013. The ADD with KAI and Korean Air carried out projects to develop division-scale UAVs. Another major prospective program under way by the state-funded Korea Aerospace Research Institute and the national flag carrier, which has in recent years been expanding its foray into aircraft manufacturing, was for a Predator-like surveillance and reconnaissance drone called the KUS-15.

In tandem with Defense Reform 2.0, the South Korean Army in October 2017 announced five “game changers” that would define the future of South Korea’s military forces — an arsenal of high-precision and high-powered ballistic and cruise missiles, a well-equipped strategic mobile strike force able to take down key targets, special operations forces tasked with decapitation missions, a fleet of drones and autonomous vehicles and a wholesale upgrade of military equipment for individual combat troops, known as the “Warrior Platform.”

The most anticipated component of South Korea’s drone programs is its project to build a homegrown mid-altitude unmanned aerial vehicle (MUAV), tentatively known as the KUS-15. Primarily developed by ADD and Korean Air’s aerospace division, the idea was first conceived in 2008, and around 488.4 billion won has been invested in the project for a deployment deadline in 2020. The KUS-FS drone took off for the first time in the 2012 year, and its development was io be completed in the 2018 year; KAL-ASD had plans to develop on its basis a promising BAC class HALE (high-altitude, long-endurance - high-altitude with a long duration of flight).

The South Korean Air Forces could satisfy their MALE BAC requirements by adopting the KAL-ASD medium-altitude drone, which will have features and characteristics similar to those of the General Atomics MQ-9 UAV and, like Reaper, will be armed. Although very little information is available on the characteristics and implementation of this program, the medium-height UAV, which received the company KUS-FS designation, will perform the tasks of a communications, electronic warfare and electronic reconnaissance repeater in addition to exploration, surveillance, and strike tasks.

Adapted from the U.S. General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper drone, the MUAV can monitor territory of up to 100 kilometers (60 miles) from an altitude of 10 to 12 kilometers, recording high-resolution footage far beyond the demilitarized zone. Seoul’s inter-Korean military agreement signed with the North on 19 September 2018, which forbade either side from operating UAVs within 10 to 15 kilometers of the military demarcation line in the DMZ. Hence the MUAV is particularly important for South Korea to be able to detect key North Korean military installations and targets without further raising tensions on the peninsula. The MUAV can surveil territory of up to 100 kilometers (62 miles) from an altitude of 10 to 12 kilometers, making it capable of recording high-resolution footage far beyond the demilitarized zone.

According to the company KAL-ASD, this UAV is controlled by a radio channel in direct line of sight or a satellite communication system, and the standard payload will include an optical-electronic station for aerial reconnaissance and a radar with synthesizing antenna aperture. The complex will include 3-5 aircraft, a ground control station capable of controlling several platforms, as well as ground support components.

Several numbers are available for this UAV: length of 13 meters, wingspan of 25 meters, height of 3 meters and a turboprop engine with 1200 horsepower. The flight duration will be at least 30 hours. The maximum take-off weight of the KUS-FS is 5,700 kg, which is designed for a heavier take-off weight than the 1,318 kg MQ-1 Predator or 4,760 kg MQ-9 Reaper.

The MUAV has a traditional design layout: a slim and rounded body that accommodates the appropriate mission and operating equipment, with a spherical nose. The rear end of the structure is the engine mount, marked by the rear air intake. This engine drives the rear multi-bladed propeller unit (like the classic General Atomics "Predator" series) in a "propeller" configuration. Wings The main wing is straight (with the ends truncated) and is located amidships while being mounted low along the sides of the fuselage.

The rear wing consists of a pair of outwardly curved vertical surfaces and a downward vertical plane. In terms of appearance, the tail wing is not the inverted V of the Predator, but the Y of the Reaper. Along the bottom of the fuselage are three bubble-like protrusions that hold optics and sensors - a spherical turret-style unit mounted in the chin position, an elongated fairing in front of the main aircraft, and a shorter elongated protrusion in the rear .The wheeled landing gear is retractable and consists of a front leg and a pair of main landing gear legs.

The chin-mounted turret manages the electro-optical (EO)/infrared (IR) camera group. Due to the presence of four underwing pylons (two on the underside of each wing), the aircraft has unmanned combat aircraft (UCAV) capability, which means it has the inherent ability to carry and launch guided air-to-surface or precision missiles Potential - Guided drop bombs. Up to six would be attached to four hardpoints - possibly two for each inboard station, and possibly separate missiles/bombs for each outboard station. Sources say two different versions of the MUAV are being produced for the South Korean military - one with a strict intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance (ISR) mission and the other with full operational capability.

Korean Air confirmed in July 2020 that the development of the MUAV program was nearly complete, and mass production is imminent. A full-sized mock-up of the MUAV, also designated KUS-15, was on display at the 2019 Seoul ADEX defence show. While a series of failures during testing led the project to be delayed three times, on 26 October 2019, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) — the country’s arms procurement agency — announced the MUAV system would be completed by June 2020 but may only be ready for deployment the following year. But by October 2020, one prototype had crashed and the other has been grounded since December last year. It seemed that the aircraft’s anti-icing system is inadequate and ice could build up while operating at high altitudes.

Since the temperature drops below freezing at an altitude of 10 km, an anti-icing system is essential to prevent freezing. However, in the test run, the KUS-FS was 'cracked (split)' due to icing. In the end, even if you put it into practice, it will be difficult to demonstrate 100% of its actual performance. In order to fundamentally solve the problem, it is said that the parts must be introduced from the United States, but it is said to be virtually impossible as it is an 'export restricted item'. Korean Air showcased its cutting-edge unmanned aerial vehicle products and technologies at the Defense & Security Expo Korea (DX Korea), held from 21 to 25 September 2022 at KINTEX in Goyang City. Marking its fifth anniversary, DX Korea is a biennial defense exhibition for land forces equipment. This year, more than 350 exhibitors from 50 countries participated in the event, making it the largest in its history since 2014. As a leading company in the UAV industry, Korean Air showcased its state-of-the-art UAV products and technologies, including its stealth UAVs, UAV squadron, vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) UAVs, and hybrid drones. Korean Air displayed a life-size model of its medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) UAV, a high-performance strategic UAV with a fuselage length of 13m and wingspan of 25m, at the outdoor exhibition area.

By May 2022 serial production of MUAV was scheduled to begin in 2023 and the first aircraft will be delivered to the Republic of Korea Air Force in the fourth quarter of 2023 or in the first quarter of 2024.