The Republic of Korea’s private enterprise urban air mobility (UAM) programme, K-UAM, has begun demonstrations in urban areas.
K-UAM is entering the verification phase to verify its operational feasibility in real-world urban environments. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) launched Phase 2 of the K-UAM Grand Challenge urban demonstration project on the Ara Waterway in Incheon on October 22.
While Phase 1, conducted in the open area of Goheung, South Jeolla Province, verified the basic performance of UAM, Phase 2 aims to verify the system’s stable operation in a complex environment where it must safely fly alongside existing air traffic, such as aircraft travelling to and from nearby airports and military airspace, while also overcoming technical variables such as radio interference.
This operational feasibility demonstration will be overseen by the K-UAM One Team (Korean Air, Incheon International Airport Corporation, Hyundai Motor Company, KT, Hyundai Engineering & Construction) and the K-UAM Dream Team (Korea Airports Corporation and Hanwha Systems). Both teams are designated operators under the nation’s Urban Air Traffic Act.
The demonstration will use a helicopter instead of an actual UAM aircraft so that the focus will be on verifying the core operational systems that will serve as the ‘brains’ and ‘nerve network’ of UAM, rather than its ‘body’. A traffic management system designed to prevent mid-air collisions and coordinate traffic flow will also be tested, as well as a vertiport operation system that oversees ground movement and safety at UAM terminals, and a 5G aerial communications network that connects these processes.
Each team also plans to conduct simulations that assume abnormal situations, such as communication failures and GPS errors, to fully test system stability. Kim Hong-mok, Director of the Mobility and Automobile Bureau at MOLIT, said the demonstration is the “most important and practical first step” towards realising UAM. “While it may look like a helicopter, it’s actually writing the history of the core operational systems that will form the UAM ecosystem in Korea. Our goal is to first fully establish these core operational systems and ensure absolute safety that the public can trust.”
Based on the results of this demonstration, MOLIT plans to supplement specific operational standards and institutional foundations and link them to future demonstrations using actual UAM electrical vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.
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