DAPA approves 2.16 trillion won Army VTOL reconnaissance UAV to replace the RQ-102K from 2027

The 178th Defense Project Promotion Committee of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration approved on September 15, 2026 the domestic development of a divisional vertical-takeoff-and-landing reconnaissance UAV for the Army worth about 2.16 trillion won (~$1.51 billion), to be developed over 2027 to 2036. The new drone will replace Korean Air's fixed-wing RQ-102K (KUS-FT) with a surveillance capability more than four times greater and an operating radius about 30 percent larger, and rotary, hybrid, and tiltrotor configurations will be considered. The same meeting approved the second batch of 20 MH-60R Seahawk helicopters.