When North Korean Drones Roamed Over Seoul... Anti-Aircraft Guns Left 'Helpless'

Unable to Detect or Identify Large-Caliber Anti-Aircraft Gun Drones, No Response
Similar to 2017 Model... Possible Performance Upgrade
Flying Over Seoul at 100 km/h and 3 km Altitude for 1 Hour

North Korean drone intrudes into our airspace for the first time in 5 years
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Hee-jun] While North Korean drones freely roamed our airspace, ground-based anti-aircraft guns failed to effectively detect them and thus took no action. As a result, the military authorities pursued the drones solely with air power but ultimately failed to shoot them down.

According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff on the 27th, the manual for responding to North Korean drones requires our military to identify enemy drones north of the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) and issue warning broadcasts and warning shots from the ground. However, if the drones cross the MDL, the procedure is to detect, identify, and then shoot them down.

The five North Korean drones that violated our airspace the previous day were detected and identified by local air defense radars and thermal observation devices (TOD). Although not all flight paths were fully tracked and some parts were lost, the military explained that overall identification was achieved.

However, ground-deployed air defense weapons such as the Vulcan cannon and Biho complex system require target acquisition through their onboard detection equipment before firing. During this drone intrusion, detection did not occur because the drones were outside the effective range or detection coverage of these air defense weapons. In particular, the Vulcan cannon requires visual identification to fire, but the drones were not spotted at the gun positions.

Ultimately, the military’s response was carried out only by air power. Air Force fighters such as the F-15K and KF-16, as well as Army aviation assets including the KA-1 light attack aircraft and Apache and Cobra attack helicopters, were deployed but failed to shoot down the drones.

The primary mission of fighters is to secure air superiority, enabling air, land, and sea operations without significant interference from the enemy. Considering that the main missions of light attack aircraft are close air support (CAS) and attack helicopters provide fire support, the failure to effectively utilize the ground-based air defense network forced the military to mobilize other forces that should have been used elsewhere.

North Korean drone intrudes into our airspace for the first time in 5 years
[Image source=Yonhap News]

The North Korean drones that crossed into our airspace for the first time in five years resemble the drones that crashed in Inje-gun, Gangwon Province, in 2017 in shape and size. However, it is presumed that some performance improvements may have been made. The drones have a wingspan of about 2 meters and feature a glider-type design similar to those found in 2017. Notably, their sky-blue color, intended to make them difficult to identify in the air, was captured by our military’s cameras.

Of the five drones, one was confirmed to have returned to North Korea, while the other four conducted jamming activities near Ganghwa Island before disappearing from our military radar signals. The military considered the possibility that the drones with lost signals had crashed and searched nearby beaches but found no debris.

Among these, the one that entered Seoul and then returned to North Korea had a total flight time within South Korea of three hours and flew for about one hour within the Seoul area. Its speed was observed at approximately 100 km/h, and its altitude was around 3 km.

The military stated that the drone crossed the northern Seoul area from west to east, passing through Eunpyeong-gu to Gangbuk-gu, and no significant flight path was detected over Yongsan-gu, where the Presidential Office is located.

However, since this drone also had many missing parts and the military did not directly capture or analyze its equipment, they do not rule out the possibility that key facilities, including the Presidential Office, were filmed while the drone was flying near Yongsan-gu.

North Korean drone [Image source=Yonhap News]

Our KA-1 light attack aircraft reportedly chased the drone up to near the MDL. Unlike the drone flying at a low speed of 100 km/h, the KA-1 must fly faster to maintain lift, so it repeatedly visually identified and adjusted its course while pursuing the drone.

During the chase, there was an opportunity to fire at the drone, but because residential areas were nearby, the military ultimately did not open fire. Based on the initial detection point of the North Korean drone’s flight path, the military is estimating the drone’s launch base and is monitoring the area.

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