South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Association (DAPA) announced on January 29th that it will further develop an unmanned helicopter to establish better surveillance and reconnaissance of the western maritime border with North Korea.
DAPA says the drone will be equipped with electro-optical and infrared cameras and radars which allows operators to switch between them during missions.
The unmanned helicopters will be deployable from warships as well as South Korean Marine Corps units located on the Northwest Islands (NWI) near the border.
Last month, the 143.3 billion won (107.1 million USD) contract with defense company Hanwha Systems finishing production by 2028.
South Korea views drones as crucial to border security, especially after incidents such as North Korea firing artillery near the North Limit Line and the 2010 Yeonpyeong Island incident.
