South Korea Announces Stealth Drone Technology Breakthrough

South Korea's Agency for Defense Development (ADD) has announced the development of stealth technology for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV).

The agency revealed that key technologies for minimizing a drone’s radar cross-section, such as “aerial structure design” and “flight control algorithms,” have been developed, Janes reported. Seoul-based Aju Daily added that the development would accelerate the Kaori-X UAV project.

The ADD had been developing the tailless drone for five years, and the latest achievements have been validated through a “series of RCS measurement tests using a mock-up tailless UAV that was covered in radiation-absorbent material,” Janes wrote, citing the agency.

According to Aju Daily, the developers have used the same “polymer-based” material in the drone as that used in manned stealth aircraft.

The developers have also test flown a smaller version of the aircraft multiple times to verify its flight control algorithms.

In May, the ADD announced a drone technology that allows the UAV to autonomously select an optimized path to a destination.

Around the same time, the South Korean military announced a contract signing “to purchase low-noise hydrogen fuel cell drones for covert surveillance and reconnaissance missions after a six-month test period.” The drone would be acquired from Korean firm Doosan Mobility Innovation.

The South Korean army has also accelerated the deployment of a drone bot combat system, which uses small, swarming UAVs for reconnaissance and surveillance.