South Korea develops world's fastest unmanned aerial vehicle

[Lankan Ranger]

South Korea develops world's fastest unmanned aerial vehicle

South Korea on Wednesday unveiled its latest unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that is the world's fastest and also the world's first remote-controlled aircraft capable of taking off and landing vertically.

The aircraft has "tilt rotors," meaning its rotary wings tilt, giving it a helicopter-like capability to vertically take off and land when its wings are facing upward, and the speed and operation range of a jet when its wings are tilted forward, according to the Ministry of Knowledge Economy.

The new UAV has been in development since 2002 under the leadership of the ministry and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute, together with dozens of private businesses and research centers.

It has yet to receive an official name. There is only one other aircraft with tilt-rotors in the world, which is the V-22 Osprey used by the U.S. Marine Corp.

"This is the world's second tilt-rotor aircraft but the world's first UAV with such capabilities," Nam Ki-man, a ministry official, said at an earlier press briefing.

The official added the aircraft was also the world's fastest UAV with a cruise speed of 400 kilometers per hour, or about "twice as fast as a helicopter."

The world's best-known UAV, the U.S. Air Force's Predator, is said to have a cruise speed of 84 miles per hour or about 135 kilometers per hour, and a maximum speed of about 217kilometers per hour.

The aircraft's unique capability of vertical takeoff and landing also means it can have numerous applications.

The developers are now working to downsize the aircraft to about 60 per cent of its original form, which currently stands at 5 meters in length and 7 meters in width and weighs 1 ton.

"It can also be used as the platform for a personal air vehicle that is capable of door-to-door operations without a runway," Nam said, adding many investors and buyers were already showing interest in the new aircraft.

The price of the aircraft has yet to be set, mainly because the developers are not yet sure of their initial production volume.

Nam said mass production could begin in less than three years after the development of the aircraft is completed in March.

South Korea develops world's fastest unmanned aerial vehicle - LANKA BUSINESS ONLINE

 

[praveen007]

 

[applesauce]

hmmm idk....a old f-16 with a radio controll kit installed can be called a unmanned aerial vehicle, im pretty sure its faster than 400 km/h

 

[rohailmalhi]

hmmm idk....a old f-16 with a radio controll kit installed can be called a unmanned aerial vehicle, im pretty sure its faster than 400 km/h

But the cost of it one trip , u can well imagine ..................Not just fuel , maintenance etc .Doest matter how much bigger and stringer the country is cost does play its part.

 

[breeze]

Nothing South Korea makes is indigenous. It is all United States technology with a South Korean brand name.

 

[TruthSeeker]

This is really the world's fastest UAV:


Military space shuttle receives mission extension

BY STEPHEN CLARK, SPACEFLIGHT NOW
Posted: November 29, 2011


Quietly orbiting Earth since March, the U.S. Air Force's second X-37B space plane will surpass its 270-day design life Wednesday with no sign the clandestine spacecraft is landing any time soon.

The X-37B has been in orbit since March 5, when an Atlas 5 rocket hauled the two-ton, 29-foot-long spacecraft into space from Cape Canaveral, Fla.

"On-orbit experimentation is continuing," said Air Force Maj. Tracy Bunko, an spokesperson for the Secretary of the Air Force. "Though we cannot predict when that will be complete, we are learning new things about the vehicle every day, which makes the mission a very dynamic process."

The winged spaceship's specific mission is secret, as is the contents of the craft's unpressurized cargo hold. But the Air Force says its purpose is to haul experiments and other small payloads to space and return them intact.

It's circling 210 miles overhead moving at more than 17,000 mph, but the stubby-winged spaceship is designed to glide back to Earth guided by GPS navigation signals and touch down precisely on a runway in California.

Air Force officials said the X-37 was designed to fly in space for up to 270 days, but engineers will extend the mission beyond its nine-month baseline.

"We initially planned for a 9-month mission, but will continue to extend it as circumstances allow," Bunko said in a statement released to Spaceflight Now. "This will provide us with additional experimentation opportunities and allow us to extract the maximum value out of the mission."

With wings, tail stabilizers and cargo bay doors, the reusable X-37B resembles a space shuttle orbiter. It's about a quarter of the size of an orbiter, and its thermal blankets and heat shield tiles give the craft a checkered black, gray and white color.

But the space plane's tiles are tougher than the shuttle's, its electromechanical flight control system replaces the orbiter's hydraulic actuators, and the X-37B is powered by a deployable solar panel instead of cryogenic fuel cells.

The upgrades allow the X-37B to stay in orbit months longer than the space shuttle, which was limited to missions lasting about two-and-a-half weeks, according to Air Force officials.

The X-37B is also called the Orbital Test Vehicle.

The Air Force says it will not announce the return date until landing nears. The military revealed the first X-37 mission's homecoming a day before it flew to a successful landing at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.

When engineers decide to end the mission, the X-37 will fire a thruster to drop from orbit and plunge back into the atmosphere. The space plane will be shielded from scorching temperatures by ceramic tiles as it soars over the Pacific Ocean, and its guidance computer will autonomously hone in on 15,000-foot runway at Vandenberg.

The inaugural X-37 orbital mission, which ended last Dec. 3 after 224 days in space, accomplished the first U.S. automatic landing from space on a runway. The Soviet Union's Buran space shuttle achieved the feat in 1988.

Built by Boeing Co., the X-37 space plane started off as a NASA project. The Defense Department took over in 2004, and responsibility for the X-37 ended up with the Air Force in late 2006.

Boeing built two space-worthy X-37s. Before approving plans to launch the current mission, engineers inspected the first craft after its return last year.

Last year's flight demonstrated the craft could operate in space and successfully return. Going into this year's mission, officials said they would further explore the craft's capabilities, including a longer stay in orbit and accepting worse weather conditions for landing.

For now, the Air Force plans to maintain silence on the progress of the current mission.

"We won't have anything else to say until we announce a landing date, which has not yet been determined," Bunko said.

Ted Molczan, a respected satellite tracker based in Canada, said the ongoing mission has maintained its orbit between 200 miles and 215 miles in altitude since launch. Last year's flight conducted more orbit adjustments, possibly to test the craft's propulsion system.

Managed by the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, headquartered in the Pentagon, the Orbital Test Vehicle program tentatively plans a third flight in the future. But the Air Force will not release a date for the next mission.

Spaceflight Now | Breaking News | Military space shuttle receives mission extension

 

[FairAndUnbiased]

Koreans can never exceed their American masters.

 

[Korean]

Fastest unmanned "VTOL" UAV.

Somebody forgot VTOL part.