Hanwha picked to develop KF-21’s unmanned escort plane radars

Hanwha Systems Co., a South Korean aerospace and defense contractor, has been picked as a preferred developer by the state-run Korea Institute for Defense Analyses of advanced radars optimized for unmanned planes to escort KF-21 fighter jets, the company said on Tuesday.

Hanwha is aiming to develop a new model of an active electronically scanned array (AESA), a phased array antenna, to be mounted on both the KF-21 and its unmanned escort planes as well as other light combat aircraft, by the end of 2026.

KF-21 is the first supersonic fighter developed by South Korea's homegrown technology and is scheduled for mass production this year. Hanwha is slated to produce AESA radars tailored to the fighter jets this year.

Dubbed the eyes of aircraft, AESA radars are capable of detecting and tracking enemy aircraft, as well as controlling guided missiles.

The new radar to be developed will be more compact and lightweight than the conventional AESA thanks to air cooling technology used to cool radars using only air.

Upon its development, it will become South Korea’s first AESA radar based on air cooling technology.

Without conventional cooling equipment, the new radar can reduce weight and volume. It will be made even slimmer with the brick-shaped transmit receive block (TRB), a key component of the radar, compressed into a thinner shape.

Hanwha Systems is South Korea’s sole company that has developed the AESA radar optimized for the KF-21 in a project led by the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses.

“We will bolster the lineup of our AESA radars used for various aircraft and expand exports to Europe and the Asia-Pacific, as well as the Middle East and Central and South America,” Park Hyuk, head of Hanwha Systems’ surveillance and reconnaissance division, said in a press release.

Write to Jin-Won Kim at Hjin1@hankyung.com

Yeonhee Kim edited this article,