S. Korean tiltroter successfully completes takeoff, landing on ship

DAEJEON, July 11 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's locally developed unmanned tiltrotor aircraft successfully took off and landed on a vessel, the state-run aerospace institute said Tuesday.

The Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) said the 200-kilogram TR-60 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) successfully completed the maneuver from the flight deck of a Coast Guard cutter sailing at 10 knots last Friday.

The TR-60 can be used for surveillance, as well as search and rescue operations at sea.

KARI said the takeoff and landing marks a milestone since UAV operations are notoriously difficult on ships due to wake turbulence caused by the ship's superstructure.

"This trial flight confirmed the possibility of the TR-60's flight from the vessel," said Oh Soo-hoon, a KARI official, adding that the unmanned tiltroter will be further used for other purposes, such as illegal fishing monitoring in South Korean waters.

Currently, only a couple of countries, including the United States and Israel, have effectively mastered tiltrotor technology.

KARI developed the TR-100 UAV in 2012, the second such aircraft in the world after one made by the United States.

khj@yna.co.kr
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