Goyang Special City is promoting the creation of a drone valley and UAM maintenance complex to foster the drone and UAM industries, which are emerging as cutting-edge future industries.
The city established a dedicated drone industry team in 2021 and has been building a drone demonstration city, Daedeok drone airfield, and drone anchor center. Last year, it was selected for the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s K-UAM demonstration phase 2 project and will begin a full-scale demonstration project in the first half of next year. In August, it began a UAM industry promotion research service and will hold the Goyang Drone/UAM Expo in October.
Goyang Special City Mayor Lee Dong-hwan said, “Goyang City has the optimal location environment for fostering the drone and UAM industries as it is adjacent to Korea Aerospace University, Gimpo and Incheon Airports, and has KINTEX, a world-class international exhibition center.” He added, “We will expand the foundation for cutting-edge industries such as K-UAM demonstration, drone valley, and UAM maintenance complex to foster the drone and UAM industries, which are attracting attention as future mobility industries.”
Promotion of the establishment of Goyang Drone Valley and Drone Defense Industry Complex
The city will build a drone integrated control system (G-UTM) as part of the smart city development project in November of this year. In this project, the drone integrated control system will be operated for various purposes such as facility inspection, forest fire monitoring, disaster response, missing person search, regular patrol, and safety management, thereby ensuring citizen safety. In addition, the city is moving forward to maximize synergy effects with the Goyang Drone Anchor Center and to create a drone valley by attracting drone companies to the corporate tenant facilities on the 4th to 7th floors of the lifelong learning center being built in Haengsin-dong.
Drones are being used in a variety of fields, including aerial photography, safety diagnosis, logistics delivery, and the defense industry. Recently, as the utility of drones has been proven in the Russia-Ukraine War, they have been attracting attention as a low-cost, high-efficiency defense industry resource. In order to foster the drone defense industry, the city plans to build specialized defense drone facilities, such as the Defense Drone MRO Center, Drone Comprehensive Training Center, and Counter-Drone System Verification Facility.
The drone defense industry complex will seek to attract about 10 related companies, including certification agencies and maintenance and repair companies. It plans to conduct joint research and government-industry-academic-military cooperation projects with drone companies, aviation universities, and the Ministry of National Defense Drone Operations Command, and establish a roadmap. In the future, it plans to propose attracting the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s public offering project to secure public building sites and project costs, and to promote the designation of a defense industry complex.
K-UAM Phase 2-2 KINTEX-Gimpo Airport Demonstration Project to Begin in the First Half of Next Year
Starting in the first half of next year, the K-UAM Phase 2 demonstration project led by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will be fully implemented. Phase 1 of the K-UAM demonstration project will be conducted in the open area of Goheung, Jeollanam-do, and Phase 2 will be conducted in urban areas in the metropolitan area. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport launched Phase 1 of the K-UAM demonstration project in August of last year, and companies that passed Phase 1 will conduct demonstrations in the second half of this year on the Cheongna-Gyeyang Ara Waterway section (Phase 2-1) and then continue with the KINTEX-Gimpo Airport route (Phase 2-2). To this end, the construction of the K-UAM vertiport near KINTEX is scheduled to be completed by the first half of next year and full-scale demonstration work will begin. Core UAM infrastructure such as vertiport operation and traffic management services will also be comprehensively inspected.
UAM is expected to be a new high value-added industry with the introduction of eco-friendly urban aircraft. It is expected that various derived demands will arise, such as infrastructure construction, operation, traffic management, service, and aircraft manufacturing/maintenance. The city plans to form a consortium with UAM demonstration participating companies in 2026 and apply for designation of a UAM demonstration operation area. Through the K-UAM demonstration project, a demonstration operation will be conducted on the KINTEX-Gimpo Airport route and land and administrative support will be provided for the aircraft manufacturer’s verification process.
UAM pilot operation area, drone and urban air mobility expo promotion
Last August, the city commissioned a ‘UAM Industry Promotion Plan Research Service’ for the purpose of designating a UAM pilot operation area, analyzing the social acceptability of UAM, and establishing measures to promote the UAM industry and attract companies. The service is scheduled to be carried out by the Korea Aerospace University Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation and Wizen Global Co., Ltd. until May of next year.
Through this service, the city plans to promote the designation of a UAM pilot operation area and expand the business by establishing a UAM maintenance, repair, and overhaul complex. MRO stands for Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul, and includes the overall aircraft repairs necessary to continuously maintain the performance of aircraft and UAM airframes. Since expensive aircraft and UAM airframes require regular inspections and maintenance to ensure continuous safety and performance, the MRO industry is known as a field that creates as much added value as airframe production.
From October 23rd to 25th, the Goyang Drone & Urban Air Mobility Expo will be held at KINTEX 2nd Exhibition Center, where there will be a drone & UAM experience zone, conferences and seminars on drone development plans and certification, and business programs for exports and joint purchases. This expo will be held as part of the 2024 Korea Advanced Technology Expo (RAD KOREA WEEK 2024), along with seven other exhibitions: Roboworld, Korea International Construction Equipment Show, Content Korea, Digital Future Show, Digital Media Tech Show, and THE AI SHOW.
Economy Queen Reporter Kim Hong-mi / Photo Goyang City
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2024-09-13 19:35:44