A state-funded aviation research institute unveiled an unmanned tilt-rotor aircraft recently, making Korea one of the world’s few countries having the technology of vertical take-off and landing plane using helicopterlike rotors at the wingtips.

Currently, only a couple of countries, including US, Israel and UK, have the tilt-rotor technology or are proceeding with that kind of programmes.

The “transformer” unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) aircraft was developed by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) affiliated with the Ministry of Knowledge Economy in cooperation with private defense companies, a KARI official said. The UAV project started in 2002. The 5-metre-long, 7-metre-wide aircraft has a top cruise speed of 500 kmph, according to the researcher. Its flyby-wire flight control system was developed by the domestic developers while rotor and drive systems were built under an international partnership. About 20 domestic companies participated in the UAV development.

The UAV is to be used both for military and civil purposes, such as traffic controls and the prevention of forest fires as well as weather and environmental surveys, according to KARI officials.