The Defense Acquisition Program Administration(DAPA) is developing unmanned reconnaissance aircraft to be deployed on naval ships and northwestern islands near the border with North Korea.

According to the arms procurement agency on Monday, defense company Hanwha Systems is in charge of the project, which kicked off last month and will have a budget of about 143-point-three billion won until December 2028.

The recon unmanned rotorcraft, the first of its kind developed with homegrown technology, can be deployed on warships and islands unaccommodating to a runway.

DAPA expects the aircraft, if deployed on northwestern border islands, will expand border area reconnaissance and identify signs of provocations by enemies and neighboring countries at an early stage.

The agency said that the aircraft equipped with a high-performance camera with electro-optical and infrared sensors and a multi-function radar can effectively perform surveillance and reconnaissance missions regardless of the weather.