Korean Air, Boeing to jointly develop unmanned armed choppers

[THE INVESTOR] Korea Air announced on Sept. 22 that it has signed a memorandum of association with US Boeing to develop 500 MD unmanned helicopters at its Seoul headquarters on Sept. 21.

The US aircraft behemoth will provide technical support to Korean Air so that it can modify and arm the 500MD helicopters, which it has succeeded in converting to be operable unmanned since 2014.

Korea Air Chairman Cho Yang-ho (left) and Boeing Chairman Dennis Muilenburg.  Korean Air  

The 500 MD model was made by Korean Air’s aerospace division in 1963 and was the first helicopter to be made in South Korea. With the capacity for night and day reconnaissance and short-range surgical strikes, the adapted choppers will be used for surveillance on the front and immediate response.

By Hwang You-mee (glamazon@heraldcorp.com)