Royal Thai Air Force Unveils Domestically Developed KB UAV Family of Suicide Drones
06 Desember 2024
The Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) has launched the KB (Kamikaze Bomber) family of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) developed in Thailand for the first time at the Dronetech Asia 2024 unmanned aerial vehicle exhibition at Challenger Hall 12, Impact Muang Thong Thani, Bangkok, Thailand, from 25-27 November 2024.
KB family of suicide drones developed by Navaminda Kasatriyadhiraj Royal Thai Air Force Academy (NKRTAFA), Research and Development Center for Space and Aeronautical Science and Technology, and the Directorate of Armament.
It is one of the development projects specified in the Royal Thai Air Force White Paper 2024 under the name of the research and development project for unmanned aerial systems for state security, fiscal years 2023-2027, 2027-2032, to increase the capability of the Royal Thai Air Force to perform missions.
With the capability to attack stationary targets with medium-range guidance systems, the KB-5E suicide drones on display at the Dronetech Asia 2024 exhibition consist of two models: the KB-5E suicide drones that use an electric mortar propulsion system and are launched using a launcher rail and a rocket launcher, allowing for flexibility in launching from a variety of areas without the need for a large runway.
The KB-5E suicide drone is equipped with a 5kg warhead, has a destruction radius of 280m, an orbital flight speed of 90km/h, a dive speed of 180km/h, and a range of 150km. A larger version of the KB-10G suicide drone uses a gasoline piston engine and is launched via a rail launcher or rocket launcher.
KB-10G has a system weight of 40kg, a wingspan of 1.7m, equipped with a 10kg warhead, a destruction radius of 350m, a flight speed of 120km/h, and a dive speed of 220km/h, and a range of 500km. It is guided by GPS/INS with a circular error probable (CEP) of less than 3m, and can destroy stationary targets such as radar bases, artillery, tanks and armoured vehicles.
Another project that is a research and development work by the Navamindradhiraj Air Force Academy is the small solar cell energy unmanned aerial vehicle system (Solar Cell Energy) type M Solar-X, which has been newly launched under the name of K-Series UAV family, in cooperation with Thai Aviation Industries Co., Ltd. in Thailand to start the mass production line to deliver to the air force battalions in various air bases.
K-24 M Solar-x UAV for base defense missions in fiscal years 2023-2025, 2025-2028 has a wingspan of 4.2m, length 2m, take-off weight 20kg, maximum flight time 4 hours with solar cells (2 hours when using only internal batteries), cruising speed 45-70km/h, ceiling 150-1,500m and has a payload of 2kg such as EO/IR cameras.
The Royal Thai Air Force also unveiled a larger version of the K-31 UAV for the first time, displayed as a Vertical Take-Off and Landing UAV (VTOL) equipped with a hybrid gasoline engine and electric mortar to provide vertical lift, a maximum flight time of 8 hours, a maximum take-off weight (MTOW) of 25 kg, a wingspan of 4.56 m, and a payload of 5 kg.
(AAG)
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