The Drone Index: RemoEye 015

The RemoEye 015 is the largest in a series of light UAVs made by Uconsystem, a subsidiary of the South Korean conglomerate Foosung. The RemoEye was introduced 10 years ago together with its siblings, the 002B and the 006, neither of which have enjoyed export success. Uconsystem already sold small numbers of its RemoEyes to the UAE and Bolivia. Exports of the 015, however, are unknown. It’s an obscure UAV lurking in the margins of a saturated market.

The 015 subscribes to a typical monowing layout for MALE UAVs–note the distinct V-tail–and is intended for surveillance and loitering missions. The 015’s five foot, nine-inch airframe is made of composite materials and supports retractable tricycle landing gear. Its wingspan is 10.5 feet long. Its nose blister supports an infrared camera on a gimbal.

The 015 can be operated from a mobile two-man ground control station and manages four hours of mission time. Its top speed is 170 kilometers per hour although its range is just 40 km. The 015 runs on a small propeller-driven gasoline engine.

Unfortunately, the 015 is no longer part of Uconsystem’s defense catalog, whose focus is on short endurance handheld drones and other surveillance tools such as a dirigible called Aerostat. An impressive effort as of late is the vertical take off Remo-Tol that can be applied to a variety of tasks depending on the end user’s requirements. Agricultural and industrial drones now form a broader selection of Uconsystem’s products and span multiple quadcopters, including one that’s able to transport small parcels, and other rotary drones equipped for agricultural applications.

New types of military unmanned aircraft are still being developed by other South Korean manufacturers. Foremost is Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) whose upcoming fixed wing medium altitude drones (similar to the Gray Eagle) are being designed as two separate models for either division-level or corps-level use. There has also been progress in portable loitering munitions that are fitted in small launchers light enough for a single person to carry. A jet-powered UCAV involving different South Korean manufacturers is another project that’s been revealed but mostly under wraps.