Unveiling of drones raises eyebrows

The defense ministry’s decision to make public South Korea’s in-service unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) is raising some eyebrows.

In the wake of growing concerns over North Korea’s drone incursions and criticism of the South’s lax surveillance, the Ministry of National Defense publicized its indigenous UAVs in an apparent move to show off its more advanced drone technology. In addition, the ministry also announced the number of UAVs possessed by the North.

“What the South’s military made public was not classified information,” said Yang Uk, a senior research fellow at the Korea Defense and Security Forum.

However, he questioned why the military revealed its existing reconnaissance assets, to the extent of disclosing their specifications to the media.

“The ministry only had to say its drones are in good order. I do not know if publicizing them was the right decision,” Yang said.

In the past two weeks, South Korea has recovered three crashed spy drones, purportedly operated by the North, which were able to evade military radar before being discovered by civilians in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, Baengnyeong Island and Samcheok, Gangwon Province.

As a result, President Park Geun-hye rebuked her top military brass including Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin for ineffective operation of air defenses, and for downplaying the impact of the first drone found in late March in Paju. In response the military is now keen to pursue countermeasures to deal with the North’s UAVs including purchasing “expensive” low-altitude surveillance radar.

Rep. Park Ji-won of the New Politics Alliance for Democracy also criticized the defense ministry for its “ill-advised” step.

“Appalled by the North’s small aircraft, the defense ministry exposed the capabilities of the South’s drones,” he said on his Twitter account, Wednesday.

“The South Korean government is being messed around by the North.”

However, Yang said that the ministry’s move is seen as a way to ease increasing security concerns, by emphasizing the superiority of its UAVs.

Meanwhile, as part of revamping the nation’s airspace surveillance capabilities, the South is purchasing 10 low-altitude radars from Israel ― the RPS-42 Tactical Air Surveillance Radar System.

The active electronically scanning array (AESA) radar-using system is optimized to detect, classify and track all types of aerial objects at altitudes from nine to 9,100 meters within a radius of up to 30 kilometers.

Currently, the South Korean Army operates TPS-830K low-level surveillance radars, but it is limited in identifying small aircraft.

With the view of deploying the radars in major facilities including Cheong Wa Dae and front-line units, 20 billion won ($19.2 million) has been hurriedly allocated for the purchase, according to the Yonhap News.

Although the South is set to introduce the low-altitude radars, there are concerns that it may not be able to adequately prevent infiltration by the North’s drones.

“The radar is expensive, but its coverage is narrow. So, the South is required to purchase hundreds of radar emitters, which will cost a lot,” said Lee Hee-woo, a retired Air Force general. By Kang Seung-woo The korea times