Korean Air Participates in Baekdu Reconnaissance Aircraft Upgrade Project

The improved Baekdu reconnaissance aircraft is scheduled to make its maiden flight on the 8th at TSTC Airport in Waco, Texas, USA, led by the American defense company L3.

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] Korean Air will participate in the upgrade project of the Baekdu reconnaissance aircraft, a core reconnaissance asset of the Air Force. This project involves creating a new reconnaissance aircraft to replace the Baekdu reconnaissance aircraft introduced by our military in the 1990s.

The Baekdu reconnaissance aircraft is an intelligence asset capable of capturing North Korea's electronic intelligence (Elint) and communications intelligence (Comint). Electronic and communications intelligence is obtained through wiretapping or eavesdropping to learn about equipment operations such as radar activation and the content of wired and wireless communications. Additionally, it has incorporated the measurement and signature intelligence (Fisint) function developed by domestic defense companies LIG Nex1 and Hanwha Thales. The Fisint function detects signal exchanges between electronic devices even when there is no movement at North Korean military communications, nuclear facilities, or missile bases. In the case of missile launches, the main signal detection range of the North Korean military reaches up to 370 km. Within this detection range are the Dongchang-ri missile base and the Yongbyon nuclear facility. The name Baekdu reconnaissance aircraft was given because its detection range extends as far as Baekdu Mountain.

Upgrading the Baekdu reconnaissance aircraft will also increase its endurance. The plan is to extend the endurance to over 6 hours and raise the operating altitude to 40,000 feet (approximately 12 km). The altitude of the Baekdu reconnaissance aircraft is similar to the normal operating altitude (15 km) of the high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft U-2, possessed by the US Forces Korea, allowing it to stay out of range of North Korean surface-to-air missiles.

Korean Air plans to purchase four Falcon 2000LXS business jets from the French company Dassault and upgrade them into the new Baekdu reconnaissance aircraft. An aircraft purchase agreement has already been signed with Dassault. The second phase of the project will run from 2022 to 2026, with the total project cost estimated to reach 870 billion KRW.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.