Aircraft Tech
The Korea Aerospace Research Institute announced on May 28 that it developed new optional piloted vehicle (OPV) technology, which can be used to turn a manned aircraft in service into an unmanned aircraft by altering the control system and adding position, displacement and attitude sensors and an engine data interface.
When the conversion is made, the cockpit space of the plane can be equipped with synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and the like for a variety of applications. The technology developed at this time can be applied to all types of manned aircraft.
For example, airplanes that have become obsolete after repeated long-duration missions can be flown unmanned with this technology for use as firing exercise targets, decoys and the like.
The institute is planning to expand the size of the domestic market while penetrating overseas markets through the consistent improvement of the OPV technology. It is going to be applied to the development of high-tech personal air vehicles (PAVs) providing collision evasion and auto flight, too.