Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) had completed the first test flight of its unmanned helicopter, the Night Intruder-600 Vertical Take-Off and Landing (NI-600 VT) in 2019. The NI-600 VT is an internally funded development derived from a 600 kg-class two-seat light helicopter and is the company’s first attempt at developing a vertical take-off and landing unmanned aerial vehicle (VTOL UAV). The NI-600’s vertical take-off requires no airstrip, making the vehicle practical for “mountain and marine surveillance and reconnaissance activity, a search for the missing, and cargo transport.
The Night Intruder 600 VT has an overall length of 9 m, width of 2 m, and height of 2.5 m with a maximum take-off weight (MTOW) of 600 kg, future development could see the air vehicle grow to over 750 kg as the programme matures. Development of the Night Intruder 600 VT began in 2017 and it was exhibited for the first time in public at the DX Korea exhibition in November 2018. KAI then acquired a Special Airworthiness Certificate from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport in July and a flight permit from Busan Regional Aviation Administration in 2019. KAI is intending to pitch the Night Intruder 600 VT to meet a forthcoming Republic of Korea Army (RoKA) VTOL UAV requirement.
