Hanwha System enters the "Air Shuttle" business of Daegu-Gyeongbuk integrated airport

[Smart City Today]

Hanwha Systems (CEO Eo Sung-chul) will develop a "UAM Air Shuttle" business between Daegu Metropolitan City, Daegu, Gyeongbuk Integrated New Airport, and downtown Daegu.

Hanwha Systems signed an MOU with Daegu Metropolitan City on the 27th at the 2022 Daegu International Future Mobility Expo held at EXCO, Daegu, with the K-UAM Dream Team consortium consisting of Korea Airports Corporation, SK Telecom, and T-Map Mobility.

The "K-UAM Dream Team" is planning to build new airport accessibility and convenience by building a new UAM air shuttle between Daegu and Gyeongbuk, and creating a wide-area transportation network (RAM) connecting the center of Daegu.

The "K-UAM Dream Team" consortium with Daegu City will go through the demonstration stage from 2023 to 2025, such as verifying virtual flight scenarios and developing service routes.

It plans to start a pilot project in 2026, identify tourism and business demands, and establish profit routes by expanding routes in Daegu and Gyeongbuk. With the opening of a new integrated airport in Daegu and Gyeongsangbuk-do in 2030, Daegu's UAM service will be commercialized in earnest.

In order to grow into a "UAM-specialized smart city," Daegu City is planning to build UAM infrastructure at Daegu and Gyeongbuk Integrated New Airport and Daegu Airport's rear site.

Hanwha Systems plans to participate in the development of UAM control and navigation solutions for new airports in Daegu and Gyeongsangbuk-do and will be in charge of supplying and maintaining aircraft for the "UAM Air Shuttle" business between cities. Hanwha Systems is set to conduct a full-scale unmanned prototype test flight next year and is currently undergoing the acquisition of the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Type Certificate in 2025 with its co-developer Overair. It also specializes in developing technologies for navigation and control infrastructure (CNSi) control systems necessary for UAM operation.

"Based on the new Daegu-Gyeongbuk integrated airport, which will develop into a central airport in the central region, we will contribute to regional mobility innovation through UAM, a new transportation that will follow not only Daegu attractions but also Gyeongju and Pohang tourism resources," said Eo Sung-chul, CEO of Hanwha Systems. And added "We believe that Daegu and Gyeongsangbuk-do will develop further through the UAM industry, which is analyzed to bring ripple effects and growth engines such as 160,000 domestic jobs and 23 trillion won in production inducement by 2040. "

Daegu Mayor Hong Joon Pyo said, "Through this agreement, it is expected to contribute greatly to establishing the UAM business milestone in Daegu with the consortium with the best UAM-related capabilities in Korea. We will generously support it as a game changer in the UAM market with the opening of the Daegu Gyeongbuk Integrated New Airport."