The Korean Air KUS-FS (Korean Unmanned System–Flight Strategic) is a medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (MALE UAV) developed by the Agency for Defense Development (ADD) and Korean Air in March 2022 It was developed for the Korean Air Force's Group 5 UAV system. Previously known as the MUAV (Medium-Altitude UAV), the KUS-FS is in the same class as the US-built General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper UAV.
Design and development
The aircraft is long with a wingspan and has a height of . Powered by a modified 1,200 hp turboprop engine based on the SS-760K turbojet engine developed for the SSM-700K C-Star anti-ship missile, it has an endurance in excess of 24 hours while flying at a service ceiling of , from where its surveillance systems were accurate enough to identify a specific seat within the Seoul Sports Complex away. It is capable of scanning ground targets away from an altitude of 10–13 km (33,000-45,000 ft).
The expected delivery time of the KUS-FS is expected to be from the fourth quarter of 2023 to the first quarter of 2024, and the ROKAF plans to procure two to three complete MUAV systems, totaling about 10 air vehicles, with introduction planned by 2025.