[Courtesy of Hanwha Aerospace]
SEOUL -- A consortium led by Hanwha Aerospace, an aircraft parts maker in South Korea, tied up with a state research body to develop core technologies for a turboshaft engine that produces shaft power to drive machinery and is mainly used to drive the rotary wings of helicopters. It is part of a military project to develop an unmanned rotorcraft system.
The Korea Research Institute for Defense Technology Planning and Advancement (KRIT) said it would work with a consortium of Hanwha Aerospace, V&C Tech, and KSM for the development of core technologies for a 1,000-horsepower turboshaft engine for the unmanned compound combat rotorcraft (UCCR), which is a new-concept aircraft under development.
Equipped with capabilities such as vertical take-off and landing, hovering, and high-speed flights, UCCR can fly faster and longer than conventional helicopters and effectively carry out reconnaissance and attack missions.
About 18.9 billion won ($15.9 million) will be invested for 36 months to develop related technologies that can be used for hybrid-electric propulsion aircraft that applies a turboshaft engine to advanced air mobility (AAM), KRIT said in a statement on December 6.
AAM builds upon urban air mobility (UAM), an ecosystem involving flying passenger vehicles in urban areas, by incorporating use cases not specific to operations in urban environments. AAM's potential applications could extend beyond high-density urban centers to reach underserved communities and geographically distant regions.
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