South Korea announced this month its ideas to use light weapons to combat aircraft incursions in response to escalating tensions and new North Korean aircraft attacks.
In response to many news reports this month, South Korea announced plans to use light weapons to combat North Korean uavs as part of a wider effort to strengthen its defenses in the face of rising tensions.
South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense ( MND ) confirmed the initiative, emphasizing that a high-tech laser system codenamed” Block-I”, developed by Hanwha Aerospace, will be deployed by the yearend, with more systems to be deployed in the coming years. Block-I may destroy drones quickly and silently at only USD 1.45 per photo.
The decision comes in response to current drone intrusions by North Koreans into South Korean airspace, which raises security issues. Lee Jong-sup, the North Korean defence minister, emphasized the urgency of the project, noting the cost-effectiveness and accuracy of laser technology in comparison to conventional missile defenses.
In response to persistent threats from North Korea, which has been increasing its missile checks and surveillance activities, South Korea is pursuing this strategy.
North Korea’s December 2022 aircraft invasion into South Korea caught the former off-guard, resulting in a confused scrambling answer.
In a January 2023 article for the International Institute for Strategic Studies ( IISS), Joseph Dempsey points out that North Korea’s drone attack in South Korean airspace from December 2022 serves as a significant reminder of the difficulties faced by fending off small drones. Dempsey mentions that despite South Korea’s five-hour military operation involving combat aviation and attack helicopters, none of the five robots were neutralized, all possible returning properly.
He claims that the South Korean MND struggles to use radar to track little reconnaissance drones, never realizing that their air defenses were built to protect slower, low-flying targets with little signatures. He notes that the robots, suspected to become Chinese-manufactured types Trancomm SKY-09 and UV10, show the dual-use characteristics of business solutions and the challenges in regulating them.
Dempsey claims that North Korea’s use of these robots for pictures surveillance underlines its desire to improve its autonomous skills despite the restrictions on transmitting information back to the ground. This passion is reflected in North Korea’s January 2021 Workers Party Congress review, which outlined military growth goals, including increased flying and satellite security, notes Dempsey.
He claims that professional satellite imagery revealed two previously unreleased aircraft designs at the Panghyon plane factory, indicating that North Korea is working toward expanding its drone program.
North Korea has developed more sophisticated aircraft models in line with its symmetric military method against South Korea, aside from the small, difficult-to-detect drones it has.
In a March 2024 content in the peer-reviewed Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology, Kang-Il Seo and various artists mention that North Korea has introduced innovative proper drones, the Satbyol-4 and Satbyol-9, considerably enhancing its security and attack skills.
Seo and some say that these robots, which were unveiled at a military equipment show in July 2023, resemble the US RQ-4 Global Hawk and MQ-9 Reaper, between, and are expected to perform multi-domain activities.
They point out that the Satbyol-4, a high-altitude surveillance aircraft with a wing of about 35 m, is believed to be capable of intensive surveillance despite North Korea’s lack of communication satellites restricting its long-range functions. Further, they say that the Satbyol-9, an attack drone, mimics the Reaper’s design, including its ability to carry multiple missiles, indicating North Korea’s potential for precision strikes.
Seo and others note that North Korea’s development of these drones represents a significant advance in its military technology, which is reflected in its strategy to counteract its lower aerial surveillance capabilities in the US and South Korea. They say that the deployment of these drones poses increased peacetime and wartime threats, enhancing North Korea’s surveillance, reconnaissance, and early warning capabilities and potentially escalating regional tensions.
North Korean drones pose a significant challenge in air defense, despite South Korea having one of East Asia’s most admired militaries. South Korea’s missile defense architecture is not designed to counter such targets, laser weapons are still in development, and rapidly improving drone designs pose challenges to defensive technologies.
In February 2024, Asia Times noted that South Korea’s Korean Air and Missile Defense (KAMD) system is not well-equipped to effectively counter small drones due to its design for intercepting larger drones, aircraft, and ballistic missiles.
Laser weapons have not yet fulfilled their potential as low-cost, efficient anti-drone weapons due to development delays, technology issues, beam quality control problems, maintenance requirements, and a lack of industrial support.
Inertial guidance drones may not be able to jam because they can maintain their course or return to a specific point even if their command signals are lost.
Further, The Washington Post reported that South Korea would struggle to defend its air defenses from North Korean drones for three to five years in May 2023. According to The Washington Post, South Korea has made significant investments in missile defense and air and naval forces, but it has neglected to invest in anti-drone capabilities.
The source claims that North Korea’s December 2022 invasion exposed a sluggish South Korean air defense structure, slow communication between ground radars and interceptor aircraft, and unclear engagement guidelines for South Korean commanders.
The Washington Post also mentions concerns about collateral damage from drone interceptions and claims that North Korea may be looking into South Korea’s air defenses for unsecured gaps.
Given these capability gaps, South Korea needs to do everything in its power to strengthen its air defense against North Korea’s asymmetric drone threat.
Oh Il-Seok and Choi Yonghwan note that South Korea must improve its drone detection technology and accelerate development given North Korea’s advances in drone technology and December 2022 infiltration.
After seeing the transformative effects that drones have had on the battlefield, North Korea appears to be transferring a lot of lessons from the Ukraine War, according to Choi and Oh.
They also note increased cooperation between North Korea and Russia, with the former providing the latter with ballistic missiles and artillery shells for use in Ukraine in exchange for possible energy supplies, food aid, financial aid, and high-end military equipment like missile propulsion and drone technology.
Oh and Choi claim that the drone program of North Korea could prompt a number of provocative acts against South Korea by deploying brand-new drones to pose new threats to the latter.
Finally, they point out that North Korea’s use of new drone technology demonstrates its desire to develop conventional weapons while also advancing its nuclear program. According to them, this makes it necessary for South Korea to develop additional countermeasures to counteract North Korea’s dual role in the conventional and nuclear arsenal.