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| The Army's delivery drone |
By Jun Ji-hye
The Army plans to deploy unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) designed to deliver supplies to troops as early as 2018, officials said Wednesday.
The Army conducted a demonstration of a delivery drone earlier in the day at the Gyeryongdae military headquarters in South Chungcheong Province, during which the drone airlifted a 15 kilogram package to a designated spot.
The demonstration was watched by Army Chief of Staff Gen. Jang Jun-gyu and other senior officials.
The drone demonstrated higher performance in comparison with U.S. online retailer Amazon's delivery drone that picked up a five kilogram package in an earlier demonstration, an Army official said on the condition of anonymity.
The Army and the Korea Aerospace University has co-developed the supply drone and carried out test flights twice so far.
"We will conduct the third test later this year and produce a prototype by the end of this year," the official said. "Then, additional operational tests will take place next year. If everything goes off without a hitch, we will be able to actually deploy the drones in 2018."
Carrying 20 kilograms of goods, the drone could fly some five kilometers at a maximum altitude of 500 meters, according to the Army.
Once deployed, it will be used to deliver supplies to remote mountainous areas or isolated posts during wartime as well as to send emergency relief goods to civilians in the event of a natural disaster, the Army said.
During the meeting, the Army also displayed KAISHOT, a mobile digital video and audio recording system with a compact size and high resolution images, usually used by military and police.
KAISHOT was used during the operation, code-named Dawn of Gulf of Aden, carried out by members of the Navy's elite Underwater Demolition Team in 2011, during which the team killed eight pirates and captured five who hijacked a Korean ship in waters off Somalia.
The Army said the KAISHOT displayed this time utilizes long-term evolution (LTE) technology that greatly improves its performance.
The equipment used in 2011 was based on a satellite signal.
The Army expects its Special Forces to make the most use of the equipment in combating and preventing terrorism, and disaster relief.
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