South Korea launches development of family of stealth combat drones

Long largely dependent on Western military equipment, in particular American and German, South Korea undertook, some twenty years ago, to develop rapidly and with great ambitions its own defense industry. In recent years, Seoul has reaped the laurels of its investments, not only by having increased its strategic autonomy in a spectacular way with the development of new high-performance equipment such as Seijong the Great class destroyers, Dosan Anh Changho submarines ou K9 artillery systems, but also by multiplying the successes on the very competitive international scene, including the recent super-contract signed with Warsaw represents a culmination. Far from resting on its laurels, Seoul is continuing these efforts, with the development of very high-tech equipment, such as the new KF-21 Boramae stealth fighter or new media-changing ballistic missiles Hyunmoo.

On August 12, the Korea Defense Development Agency announced the launch of a new program, awarded to Korean Air, to develop a family of stealth combat drones capable of assisting combat aircraft but also to operate autonomously in contested areas, as part of a super-program aimed at developing innovative defense technologies. According to the manufacturer's website, work on the initial design of the program began last November, and was completed before the official announcement of the ADD. The objective of the program is to allow 3 or 4 stealth drones to evolve under the control of a single piloted device, and includes in particular the connection and control interfaces between piloted and autonomous devices, but also to equip the drones with advanced artificial intelligence capabilities to carry out autonomous actions. For the time being, no information has been published concerning the schedule of the program, its budget or the operational capacities targeted. The illustrative images published by Korean Air show a stealth drone close in shape and dimensions to the American Valkyrie, without it being possible to determine the targeted performance or the carrying capacity of these drones.

The South Korean announcement is part of a very active international dynamic for the development of this type of material. In the United States, in addition to the US Navy's MQ-25 Singray for intelligence and aerial refueling, several programs aim to develop a new generation of stealth combat drones, whether they are intended to replace the MALE and HALE drones in order to increase their survivability, or Loyal Wingmen type drones to accompany and extend the capabilities of manned combat aircraft. Russia, for its part, is jointly developing the S-70 Okhtonik-B long-range heavy stealth combat drone intended for accompany the Su-57 and, reportedly, replacing light fighters in the country's foreign naval air forces, as well as a lighter loyal wingmen drone program designated GROM. China has been developing the Sharp Sword family of stealth combat drones for more than a decade, including the GJ-11 officially presented in 2019 would be the first operational model. More recently, she also presented a Loyal Wingmen type model very similar to the American XQ-98A Valkyrie. The Turkish Baykar is developing a stealth combat drone intended to take over from the famous TB-2 and to accompany the future TFX fighter. Australia, Great Britain et Japan are also developing Loyal Wingmen type programs.

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