South African defense contractor Milkor and South Korea’s LIG Defense and Aerospace (D&A) signed a Memorandum of Understanding on 21 April 2026 to co-develop advanced unmanned aerial systems. The strategic agreement, finalized at the Defence and Security Asia (DSA) exhibition in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, establishes a framework to integrate South Korean mission payloads into the Milkor 380 unmanned aerial vehicle.
Yoon Seung-uk, Head of the Overseas Business Division at LIG Defense and Aerospace, and Hendrik de Wet, Milkor’s Head of Asia Business Development, signed the document at the exhibition. The agreement elevates existing technology exchanges into a collaborative partnership focused on joint weapons system planning. The firms plan to co-develop unmanned reconnaissance platforms and mission equipment while merging their marketing networks to target defense markets in Africa and the Middle East.
Under the framework, LIG Defense and Aerospace will integrate its independently developed Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar and advanced Electronic Warfare (EW) mission equipment directly into Milkor’s flagship aircraft. The partnership aims to build a unified “turnkey solution” capable of executing intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, reconnaissance, and precision strike missions from a single airborne platform. An LIG Defense and Aerospace official stated that the combination of South Korean mission technology and Milkor’s platform will secure a competitive product designed to optimize capabilities for future combat environments.
The core of the collaboration focuses on equipping the Milkor 380, a Medium-Altitude Long-Endurance (MALE) unmanned aircraft built at Milkor’s factory in Cape Town, South Africa. As the largest military drone fully designed and manufactured on the African continent, the aircraft features an 18.6-meter wingspan, a 9.0-meter length, and a maximum take-off weight of 1,500 kg. Powered by a turbocharged Rotax 915 iS engine, the platform delivers an operational flight endurance of 30 to 35 hours, a maximum range of 4,000 km, and a service ceiling of 30,000 feet. The aircraft operates at cruise speeds between 110 and 150 km/h and can reach a top speed of 250 km/h.
The platform carries a maximum payload capacity of 220 kg across five hard points, allowing it to accommodate electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) sensors, synthetic aperture radar (SAR), and precision-guided munitions. While currently utilizing a piston engine, Milkor plans to integrate a turboprop powerplant into future iterations of the aircraft. The South African manufacturer is also working on a larger platform designated as the Milkor 780. The partnership involves both UAE-based Milkor Aerospace and Defence and South Africa-based Milkor Integrated Systems to manage international production and integration logistics.
The integration of advanced AESA radar and electronic warfare systems addresses key operational trade-offs inherent to MALE platforms. Traditional mechanical radars add weight and possess lower scanning rates, whereas AESA technology provides faster target acquisition, improved tracking of multiple threats, and higher resilience against electronic jamming. This electronic warfare suite expands the drone’s role from passive surveillance to active electronic protection and electronic attack, allowing it to survive in contested airspaces.
Milkor has steadily advanced its platform since announcing an initial agreement in November 2022 to supply five airframes to the South African Department of Defence, Armscor, and the South African Air Force for testing and domestic operational evaluation. The Milkor 380 completed its inaugural flight on 19 September 2023, following taxi testing earlier that year, and the company served as a primary sponsor to showcase the system at the African Aerospace and Defence exhibition in September 2024.
Milkor has actively pursued manufacturing hubs outside South Africa to bypass regional funding constraints and tap into wealthy defense markets. In February 2024, the company entered advanced negotiations with Saudi Arabia, securing a manufacturing permit to establish a local assembly facility in Riyadh in alignment with the Saudi Vision 2030 initiative. During the World Defense Show in Riyadh, the drone was displayed with Saudi Arabian markings, armed with Halcon Desert Sting guided bombs and Al Tariq precision-guided weapons. Milkor has pursued similar production facilities in the United Arab Emirates to secure Middle Eastern procurement contracts.
For South Korea, the agreement represents an expansion of its export strategy, often referred to as K-defense, by mounting domestic technology on foreign hulls and airframes. LIG Defense and Aerospace produces an array of precision electronic systems, including the Hyunmoo-3 cruise missile, Raybolt anti-tank missiles, and various surface-to-air missile systems. The partnership with Milkor follows a previous defense agreement in July 2025, where Milkor signed a memorandum with Hanwha Systems at the Paris Air Show to integrate a South Korean synthetic aperture radar payload onto the Milkor 380.
This status makes the system highly attractive to African and Middle Eastern states seeking advanced electronic warfare and strike capabilities without having to navigate complex Western regulatory frameworks. Joint engineering and integration testing for the new sensor suites will serve as the next phase of development before the upgraded platform enters formal marketing trials.