South Korea Tests The First Prototype of Long-Range Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

23 Maret 2018

KUS-FS 001 (all photos : Fangnook)

The South Korean spotter, under the name Fangnook, distributed the photographs of the first prototype of the South Korean reconnaissance-strike unmanned aerial vehicle of the long range, known under the designation KUS-FS (Korean Unmanned System) , which he had made on March 16, 2018. These are the first known images of the flying prototype of this UAV in open sources. The first prototype of the South Korean long-range reconnaissance-strike unmanned aerial vehicle KUS-FS (board number "001"), March 16, 2013 (c) Fangnook / twitter.com/2008junwoo.

It is known that this UAV was developed with the lead role of the aviation division of the South Korean Korean Air (Korea Air Aerospace Division) with the participation of the Defense Development Agency (ADD) of the Ministry of Defense of South Korea. It is known that for the first time the first prototype KUS-FS (on-board number "001") was filmed for the first time, it made the first flight in 2012, and, judging by the above pictures, by now it is being tested with a full set of equipment and target load. It is reported that the UAV test should be completed by the end of 2018, after the apparatus will be handed over to the military tests of the South Korean Air Force.

UAV KUS-FS is a very large aircraft with take-off weight up to 4.5 tons and equipped with a retractable landing gear. The length of the apparatus is estimated at 13 meters, and the wing span is 25 meters. Used turboprop engine series Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6 with a capacity of about 1200 hp. with pushing screw. The cruising speed is about 250 km / h, the flight duration is from 24 to 32 hours, the operational ceiling is up to 15500 meters. To communicate with the ground control station, satellite communication equipment is used, one ground station can control three or five UAVs.

The UAV is equipped with a very rich complex of reconnaissance, surveillance and targeting equipment, including the LIG Nex1 synthetic aperture radar and the 24-hour Hanwha System electronic-optical station, as well as radio and electronic intelligence equipment. It is also possible to equip the UAV with EW equipment and other types of radar. Managed weapons (probably special design) with a total mass of up to 500 kg are placed on four external suspension nodes.

(BMPD)