Role & capabilities
- Collaborative aircraft
- Primary domain
- Air
- System type
- Collaborative aircraft
- Developer / manufacturer
- Korean Air
- Origin / production countries
- South Korea
- Other names
- LOWUS; Low Observable Unmanned Wingman System
- Variants / configurations
- LOWUS prototype; KUS-FX is a separate concept
- Operators / programme customers
- Development programme; no operational customer acceptance established
Evidence & current status
Prototype existence is documented. The reviewed announcement precedes flight tests; operational and low-observability performance is not independently established.
LOWUS is Korean Air's low-observable unmanned formation-aircraft development. The company publicly displayed a prototype at ADEX in October 2025 and described a future role alongside piloted combat aircraft. The announcement said prototype manufacture was complete and flight testing was still ahead at that point.
This matters because the same exhibition statement also discussed a smaller KUS-FX mock-up and a medium loitering-munition prototype. They are separate designs with different purposes and maturity. A photograph or headline describing one of those aircraft should not be used as evidence that LOWUS has flown or that the smaller concept is already operational.
The programme adds a Korean industrial perspective to the collaborative-aircraft sector. Its demonstrated milestone is a completed and publicly presented prototype; low observability and collaborative operation remain programme capabilities to substantiate through later testing. No complete public production specification, service acceptance or delivery schedule was established in the reviewed source. The profile consequently preserves development status and leaves unknown performance fields open for future primary evidence.
Sourced specifications
Figures apply to the named configuration. Maximum values are not guaranteed operating performance.
| Specification | Reported value | Context & source |
|---|---|---|
| Airframe | Jet-powered UAV designed for low observability | Design intent in prototype announcement; not a measured signature claim. Source ↗ |
| Launch / recovery | Not established from the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source ↗ |
| Propulsion | Not established from the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source ↗ |
| Dimensions | Not established from the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source ↗ |
| Mass | Not established from the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source ↗ |
| Endurance | Not established from the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source ↗ |
| Range | Not established from the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source ↗ |
| Speed | Not established from the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source ↗ |
| Altitude | Not established from the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source ↗ |
| Payload | Not established from the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source ↗ |
| Sensors | Not established from the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source ↗ |
| Communications / navigation | Not established from the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source ↗ |
Documented milestones
Prototype publicly displayed
Korean Air displayed LOWUS at ADEX and described flight testing as the next phase.
Read the announcement ↗
Publication history
- — Added a sourced global catalogue profile with configuration-specific data and explicit evidence limits.
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Follow the evidence
Source types identify who makes the claim. Programme milestones and supplier statements should be read in context.