Korean Air partners with Boeing subsidiary for UAV

Photo caption: Park Jung-woo (left), head of Korean Air’s aerospace business division, and senior director at Boeing Randy Rotte pose at a signing ceremony. (Korean Air)

Korean Air said on Friday it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Insitu, a Boeing subsidiary, for technical cooperation to develop a lightweight and modularized tactical vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, also known as a VTOL.

The cooperation will see the companies combine their core technologies -- Korean Air’s expertise in unmanned aerial vehicle development and production and Insitu’s state-of-the-art UAV technologies including high-performance mission equipment, system optimization and manned-unmanned teaming operations, the airline said.

Park Jung-woo, head of Korean Air’s aerospace business division, and Michael Janser, executive of business development for Asia at Insitu, participated in the deal’s signing ceremony that took place at the 2021 Seoul International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition at Seoul Airport in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, Thursday.

Korean Air boasts a wide range of UAVs, including division-level UAVs, 5-ton high-performing strategic UAVs, tiltrotor UAVs, next-generation stealth UAVs, multipurpose unmanned helicopters and hybrid drones.

Established in 1994, Insitu develops and manufactures unmanned aircraft systems, and has developed Scan Eagle, an UAV operated by the US Department of Defense.

The airline also said it would use its knowledge and proficiency in both air traffic management and the transportation service industry to expedite advancements in the future of the urban air mobility industry.

By Yim Hyun-su(hyunsu@heraldcorp.com)