Role & capabilities
- Reconnaissance aircraft
- Primary domain
- Air
- System type
- Reconnaissance aircraft
- Developer / manufacturer
- Korean Air
- Origin / production countries
- South Korea
- Other names
- KUS FT; Korean Air tactical UAV
- Variants / configurations
- KUS-FT fixed-wing system; VTOL successor concepts are separate
- Operators / programme customers
- Republic of Korea Army; Republic of Korea Marine Corps
Evidence & current status
Manufacturer identifies military operators. Zero-filled brochure fields are treated as undisclosed, not valid numerical data.
KUS-FT is Korean Air's tactical fixed-wing reconnaissance aircraft, offered as a system with aircraft, electro-optical and infrared payloads, ground control and support equipment. The manufacturer identifies the Republic of Korea Army and Marine Corps as users. Its October 2021 account says production was completed in December 2020 and the system was then in military operation.
The aircraft is smaller than the company's strategic KUS-FS. Published dimensions are 3.7 metres long and 4.5 metres across, with a 150-kilogram maximum take-off weight. The brochure describes automated take-off and landing, short-distance recovery and an emergency parachute. These are aircraft-system features rather than evidence for every possible operating environment.
Some performance boxes in the publicly accessible brochure contain zeros or placeholder digits for endurance, range, ceiling and payload. Those fields are intentionally left unknown in this catalogue. Likewise, a claim of continuous coverage using several aircraft does not mean one KUS-FT has 24-hour endurance. Keeping these distinctions explicit makes comparisons with other tactical reconnaissance systems more reliable.
2020-12: Production completed. Korean Air's October 2021 statement dates completion of production to December 2020.
Sourced specifications
Figures apply to the named configuration. Maximum values are not guaranteed operating performance.
| Specification | Reported value | Context & source |
|---|---|---|
| Airframe | Fixed-wing tactical UAV | Supplier-published figure; configuration and operating conditions affect performance. Source |
| Launch / recovery | Automated take-off and short-distance landing; emergency parachute | Supplier-published figure; configuration and operating conditions affect performance. Source |
| Propulsion | 35 hp rotary engine | Supplier-published figure; configuration and operating conditions affect performance. Source |
| Dimensions | 3.7 m long; 4.5 m span; 0.9 m high | Supplier-published figure; configuration and operating conditions affect performance. Source |
| Mass | 150 kg maximum take-off weight | Supplier-published figure; configuration and operating conditions affect performance. 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 | 200 km/h maximum; 130 km/h cruise | Supplier-published figure; configuration and operating conditions affect performance. 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 | EO/IR | Supplier-published figure; configuration and operating conditions affect performance. Source |
| Communications / navigation | Not established from the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source |
Publication history
- — Added a sourced global catalogue profile with configuration-specific data and explicit evidence limits.
Suggest a correction to this entry
Follow the evidence
Source types identify who makes the claim. Programme milestones and supplier statements should be read in context.