South Korea today unveiled a new stealthy loyal wingman-type drone, the Low Observable Unmanned Wingman System, or LOWUS, which it plans to operate alongside the locally developed KF-21 Boramae next-generation fighter. The new drone is part of a growing fleet of low-observable drones being developed in South Korea as the country seeks to introduce new uncrewed technologies for a range of missions.
The first prototype of the LOWUS was rolled out today at Korean Air’s Busan Tech Center in the southeast of the country. The drone was developed by Korean Air together with the Agency for Defense Development (ADD), a government body responsible for research and development in defense technology, funded by the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA).
Check out LOWUS design in the video below:
The LOWUS program was launched in 2021, with the research and development phase. A first flight of the first prototype is reportedly planned for the end of this year, leading toward the first manned-unmanned teaming flight tests by 2027. These will involve a piloted aircraft directly controlling the drone in flight.
The new drone is being developed from the outset for manned-unmanned teaming, in which it will operate with a significant degree of autonomously alongside crewed combat aircraft. It is expected to undertake missions including reconnaissance, electronic warfare, and strike, in support of crewed fighters, including the KF-21.
In terms of its design, the LOWUS has stealth features, including a reduced radar cross-section and a construction that makes use of radar-absorbent material (RAM). Superficially, the drone looks very similar to the XQ-58A Valkyrie, the stealthy, affordable uncrewed aircraft that has been developed by U.S. drone-maker Kratos. The LOWUS also has some visual similarities with the Airpower Teaming System loyal wingman drone, now known as the MQ-28 Ghost Bat, which was developed by Boeing’s Australian subsidiary, initially for the Royal Australian Air Force.
Previously, a drone design very similar to the LOWUS — if not identical — was presented by Korean Air in the form of an artist’s rendering, seen below.
Like the Valkyrie, the LOWUS features a stealthy trapezoidal fuselage, sharply swept main wings, a V-shaped tail, and an air intake located above the fuselage. Unlike the U.S. drone, the South Korean product features an electro-optical sensor in a turret below the nose. The powerplant of the LOWUS is not immediately obvious, although a domestically produced engine has been reported and the video released so far doesn’t reveal details of the internal weapons bay. There are also suggestions that the drone can be fitted with a locally developed active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar.
For some time now, we’ve known that South Korea was working on a manned-unmanned teaming system. In October 2021, it was announced that Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), which is leading the KF-21 program, had won a $3.4-million contract from DAPA to rapidly develop technology of this kind, although it’s not immediately clear if this is related to the LOWUS program or a separate effort.
However, the KAI initiative was apparently aimed, at least initially, to allow drones to support joint operations involving South Korean battlefield helicopters, such as the Surion and the Light Attack Helicopter (LAH). Previously, we had predicted that these same technologies could later be adapted for future integration of the KF-21 and drones, which may well be what’s happening now.
Having a stealth drone available as a loyal wingman for the KF-21 would make a lot of sense, especially since the initial iteration of the fighters lacks the high-end stealth attributes of the F-35, for example, which is also operated by the ROKAF. The KF-21, at least in its initial form, will carry all its disposable armament externally and not in internal weapons bays.
Furthermore, the KF-21 will initially be fielded in the air-to-air-only Block 1 variant, making a drone like the LOWUS, capable of carrying air-to-ground munitions, much more useful as an adjunct to the crewed fighter. This would allow the drone to prosecute ground targets that have been identified by the KF-21, for example. Only with the subsequent Block 2 version will the KF-21 gain an air-to-ground capability.
As TWZ wrote in the past:
“More generally, a stealth unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) carrying internal weapons would be an enormous advantage to the KF-21 Block 1 or Block 2 when penetrating heavily contested airspace. This would allow the manned fighter to remain at a safer standoff distance and use its highly capable Meteor missiles and AESA radar and infrared search and track (IRST) to pick off aerial targets. This could be done perhaps by targeting data received from the UCAV’s own sensors without the need to use the KF-21’s onboard radar at all. This concept is increasingly attractive as it could allow manned fighters to remain largely electromagnetically silent, increasing their survivability, with the drone taking on the higher-risk role as a forward sensing platform.”
South Korea is developing the KF-21 to replace the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) now-retired F-4E Phantom II and still-active F-5E/F Tiger II fighters. Currently, it’s planned for the ROKAF to introduce 40 KF-21s by 2028 and have a full fleet of 120 aircraft deployed by 2032.
For the manned-unmanned teaming component of the KF-21’s operations, it’s likely that the ROKAF will make specific use of the two-seat variant. With accommodations for an additional crewmember, this would make it ideal for the ‘loyal wingman’ drone-controller mission, reflecting the same approach pursued by China, where a two-seat J-20 stealth fighter apparently intended for this mission has been developed.
Of course, the LOWUS could also find practical applications beyond the KF-21, including in support of the FA-50 light combat aircraft, providing it these relatively cheap fighters with a much higher degree of survivability. Although based on an advanced jet trainer, the FA-50 is a potent combat platform in its own right, with a multimode radar and precision-guided weapons, including the AGM-65 Maverick air-to-ground missile and GBU-38/B Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM). It also has twin seats, making it suitable for a drone-controller role.
The FA-50 has already found export success and the option of offering it for sale with a complementary loyal wingman drone could make it even more attractive, provided that Seoul releases these technologies for sale to foreign customers. Even without the FA-50, or the KF-21, for that matter, the LOWUS could be a compelling export prospect. South Korea is an increasingly major player on the global arms market and a loyal wingman that could be integrated with a range of other combat aircraft would be a unique selling point.
In regards to Seoul’s stealthy drone programs, we know of previous efforts, most of which have focused on tailless flying-wing designs.
For some years now, Korean Air has been working on a stealthy UCAV under the KUS-FC program. A subscale demonstrator, the Kaori-X, began flight testing in 2015. This demonstrator has reportedly been used to test low observability, aerodynamic control and stability, and propulsion concepts.
In September 2021, the ADD announced that it had mastered critical technologies to allow the production of full-size stealthy UCAVs, the result of a project launched in 2016. In particular, the agency pointed to the development of aerial structures, including RAM, plus flight control algorithms that would help reduce a drone’s radar cross-section. The ADD also described these features being incorporated in a tailless unmanned aerial vehicle. Reports suggest that this effort was separate from but complementary to the KUS-FC program.
Meanwhile, in September 2023, another — much smaller — stealthy-shaped flying wing drone appeared in a military parade in Seoul. Five of these uncrewed aircraft were included in the procession, each mounted on top of a 4×4 light utility vehicle, although the drones’ tricycle landing gear indicates they are intended to take off and land from traditional runways. Although broadly similar in layout to the Kaori-X, the new drones features a ‘cranked kite’ wing configuration, similar to what is seen on the X-47B.
Overall, drones are very much an area of interest for the South Korean military, which announced the creation of a dedicated drone operations command in September 2023.
“The command will mainly utilize the unmanned assets to carry out defensive and offensive operations and deter various asymmetric threats posed by the enemy, including drones, nuclear weapons, and other weapons of mass destruction during a contingency,” South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) explained at the time, according to a report from South Korean media outlet Yonhap. “It is also tasked with conducting surveillance, reconnaissance, and strike operations, as well as psychological warfare and electromagnetic warfare at a strategic and operational level.”
Already, the KF-21 is gaining much interest on account of its rapid development timeline and its innovative approach to fielding a new-generation fighter, with certain design compromises having been taken to ease its path into service. With today’s rollout of the Low Observable Unmanned Wingman System drone, another part of the KF-21’s intriguing concept of operations has emerged.
Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com