Korean Air Aerospace and the Republic of Korea’s Agency for Defence Development (ADD) have unveiled their new Low Observable Wingman UAV System (LOWUS) technology demonstrator at the Korean Air Tech Center in Busan, earlier this week.

Korean Air plan and ADD had commenced research and development in 2021 as part of the Defence Acquisition Program Administration’s (DAPA) Future Challenge Defence Technology Project, with a programme completion date of 2027.

In line with this agenda, DAPA announced in a release that the goal was to conduct the maiden flight of the LOWUS technology demonstrator at the end of this year and undertake a manned-unmanned composite flight test in 2027, in which pilots flying in aircraft will directly control the drones in the air. LOWUS will be the core platform for Korea’s future manned-unmanned composite systems.

“We plan to respond to changes in the future battlefield by forming a composite combat system between manned and unmanned formations in the future,” and “We will do our best to enter the leading ranks in the field of manned-unmanned fighter composite systems, which is fiercely competitive worldwide, in cooperation with domestic defense companies,” Park Jun-Seong, a senior researcher at ADD.

The LOWUS will be the first demonstration case of a domestic manned-unmanned composite aviation system. DAPA and ADD are already working on the core technologies for UAS programme such as domestically developed engines and AESA radars. The UAS will form a composite formation with manned fighters and autonomously undertake missions such as reconnaissance, electronic warfare, and attack under the supervision of a pilot flying in an aircraft.

With LOWUS planned to make its maiden flight by the end of the year, the Republic of Korea is one of only a handful of nations so considerably advanced in the development of a Low Observable Wingman UAS.

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