군, 바다 추락 ‘자폭 드론’ “발사관 문이 뒤틀려 발생”

South Korea's military was investigating on May 25 after an autonomous drone designed for self-destruction crashed during a sea launch test. The Defense and Science Agency (ADD) sources disclosed that the fault was attributed to a malfunction in the drone's launch mechanism. A spokesperson for ADD disclosed on May 28 that the cause of the sinking of the autonomous drone was due to an improper alignment of the left sliding door of the launch mechanism, which caused structural deformation.

The launch mechanism used for this test consisted of two stacked left and right launch tubes; the left tube had a misalignment issue. As a result, the drone was propelled towards the right, causing the right launch tube to collapse, leading to an imbalance in the drone's propulsion system, causing it to spin out of control and crash into the ocean.

The autonomous drone in question was a medium-sized one, propelled by rocket boosters, which then accelerated using engine propellers. However, the structural deformation in the launch mechanism was only temporary and quickly reverted to its original state, which made it undetectable at the scene. ADD sources noted that this was the first time such an issue had occurred during the dozens of test launches using the same launch mechanism.

The spokesperson added that the issue was likely due to the disassembly and reassembly of the launch mechanism during transportation or repositioning for naval exercises. ADD assured that they had already completed ground tests with several dozen autonomous drones, securing key technologies for medium-sized self-destruct drones.

The agency stated that they would proceed with their plan to complete the project without further sea tests. The Navy and ADD conducted the first sea trial of a medium-sized self-destruct drone on May 25 off the coast of a large transport ship, the LPH-1, but both drones launched into the sea after just a few seconds.