(From top) TR-6X, Devil Killer and Korean WIG Ship



By Ko Dong-hwan

Korea's recently-released military equipments and weapons are marked with such distinguished technological sophistication some reports called them an arsenal born to kill North Korea's most reputable ordnance.

One example is the tilt-rotor-type drone called "TR-6X." Developed by Korean Air, it can not only take off and land vertically but fly at fast velocity over high altitude, acting like both a copter and a propeller-flyer.

TR-6X will be used in military missions and for patrolling regions over water or land as well as provide weather forecast. Korea is the world's second nation, behind the U.S., to own the tilt-rotor technology.

Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) also created a portable bomb-like drone called "Devil Killer." Weighing 25 kilograms, the drone is portable for one and has bent wings in static mode.

It is capable of destroying remote targets in both water and on land. Once a carrier sends it to midair, it will reach the targets and destroy them as explosives do.

Devil Killer was introduced in Singapore Air Show which ended Feb. 16.

Shipbuilders have also introduced Korea's very own WIG (Wing In-Ground effect ship) which surpasses its Russian predecessor in function.

WIG enables ships to travel in water at 150 to 200 kilometers per hour by allowing it to float above the surface. The gravitation is possible because the ship's wings form locked-air below them as they stay close to the water surface while travelling.

What differentiates Korean WIG from Russian crafts is that it can stay aloft higher than the latter ― five meters or higher above surface ― so it can sustain harsh weather conditions resulting from rough waves.

The Korean WIG can work with not just military equipment but can be used for emergency search-and-rescue missions as well.