“IAI is proud to continue expanding our collaboration with KAI and share our combat-proven capabilities in the field of loitering munitions,” Yehuda (Hudi) Lahav, executive vice president of marketing at IAI, said. “IAI is happy to partner with one of Korea’s leading companies and to continue growing our collaboration with the local defence market and Korean industry leaders.”

KAI’s Chang Heon-Han, executive vice president and head of a future business division, said: “To lead the future of unmanned aerial vehicles, we are dedicated to developing next-generation unmanned aerial vehicle technology, and we will develop solutions that meet various customer needs.”

By searching, identifying, attacking, and destroying targets, loitering weapons combine the capabilities of drones and missiles. The new weapon system class can be utilised to target very sensitive and moving targets.

In March, the two firms agreed to work together on loitering munitions to support the ROK Army’s development of manned-unmanned teaming, or MUM-T, systems.

A KAI-built aircraft would hover at a safe distance under the plan. Simultaneously, an unmanned aerial vehicle aboard hunts for and attacks a target as required.

“The expanded cooperation between IAI and KAI will offer the ROK military with new technologies, and will establish concrete cooperation plans through joint feasibility studies between the two companies,” the company statement said, referring to the Israeli company’s HARPY NGW and HAROP loitering missile as combat-proven in many nations around the world.