Unmanned Little Bird flies for Republic of Korea Army

Boeing has announced that on 13 December it conducted a demonstration of its Unmanned Little Bird (ULB) demonstrator aircraft to showcase the unmanned aircraft technology that could be integrated onto Republic of Korea Army (ROKA) MD 500 helicopters to expand the fleet's mission capabilities.

According to Boeing, the ULB demonstrator aircraft, a variant of the MD 500 helicopter, autonomously flew for approximately 25 minutes at the ROKA Aviation School in Nonsan. The demonstration showed pilotless capabilities available for integration onto rotorcraft to support intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), resupply and other missions.

Korean Air supported transportation of the ULB for the demonstration. Korea Air Aerospace Division (KAL-ASD) assembled ROKA MD 500s from 1976 to 1987 under license from Boeing heritage companies Hughes Helicopters and McDonnell Douglas. KAL delivered approximately 500 MD 500s to Hughes Helicopters, opening the Korean aircraft export market.

Joseph Song, vice president and managing director for Boeing's defence, space and security business in the Republic of Korea, said: ‘Boeing and KAL continue to build on a history of collaboration to offer our customers innovative solutions, grow new business, and expand Korea's aerospace and defence industry capabilities.’