Article Posted on : - Oct 17, 2011

V-22 aircraft. A unrelated file photo.

SEOUL (BNS): South Korea is developing their first indigenous vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft that can conduct reconnaissance missions, a top Defence official in Seoul said Monday.

According to a report by Yonhap news agency, South Korea is developing a tilt-rotor type of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), which has the same vertical-takeoff capability of a helicopter but still retains the speed and range of a traditional, winged aircraft.

"We're one of only a few countries in the world developing a tilt-rotor UAV," Noh Dae-rae, head of the Defense Acquisition Programme Administration (DAPA), was quoted saying during the 17th International Aerospace Symposium in Seoul.