The Korea Institute of Industrial Technology (KITECH) of South Korea and NLR have signed a Collaboration Agreement (CA) under which they will exchange facilities, expertise and personnel. The two organizations particularly want to step up their cooperation in avionics test equipment and repair technology for composites. Michel Peters, Managing Director of NLR, received the South Korean delegation including KITECH director Young-ha Hwang and representatives of the province of Gyeongsangbuk-do and the municipal of Yeongcheon. After signing the CA at NLR in Amsterdam, the delegation visited the NLR site at Marknesse-Flevoland that accommodates facilities including a Test Hall and a Vibration & Shake test facility. The CA has a term of three years with a renewal option.

The CA and the visit by the South Korean delegation reflect NLR’s ambition also to offer its research and test expertise to specific BRICK countries and to generate more contracts from OEMs. Over the past years, NLR has built a close relationship with Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) by evaluating the Fly-By-Wire (FBW) system of the KUH Surion helicopter and by supporting the development of the KUH-1M helicopter, which can land on seagoing vessels. Last year, NLR made a wind tunnel model of KAI’s LAH helicopter and tested it extensively in the wind tunnel of German-Dutch Wind Tunnels (DNW). At the moment, NLR also contributes to the development of the KF-X Structural Risk Analysis program for KAI.