KAI flies uncrewed AAP in formation with FA-50 in manned-unmanned teaming test

Korea Aerospace Industries flew its uncrewed Adaptable Aerial Platform (AAP) in formation with an FA-50 light combat jet, the company said. The sortie was meant to show manned-unmanned teaming and marks a step forward for KAI's artificial intelligence pilot, KAiLOT.

The two aircraft flew together for 20 minutes at 7,000ft, holding spacing of between 30ft and 100ft. Speed during the formation was 194kt (360km/h), well below the turbojet-powered AAP's top speed of 427kt.

The ground-launched AAP weighs 150kg and has been developed with company funds since 2024, with a first flight in October 2025. KAI lists possible missions as electronic warfare, reconnaissance and strike alongside crewed and uncrewed assets.

Work on the AAP is also expected to feed into KAI's MUCCA collaborative combat aircraft. A model of MUCCA was shown at the 2025 Seoul ADEX exhibition. The CCA will be about the size of an FA-50, with four wing hardpoints and an internal weapons bay able to carry a single 907kg (2,000lb) bomb or other munitions.

KAI president Kim Jong-chul said the flight was significant because it confirmed the operational feasibility of AAP systems through the first actual flight of crewed and uncrewed aircraft together in Korea. He said the company would keep developing related technologies using experience built through domestic defence investment.

Separately, US aerospace firm AV and Taiwan's Thunder Tiger have signed a memorandum of understanding to look at collaboration on uncrewed systems including unmanned aerial systems. The arrangement could cover pairing AV's Switchblade loitering munitions, which Taiwan operates, with Thunder Tiger's unmanned surface and ground platforms.