[Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club] US-ROK Surveillance and Reconnaissance Assets Deployed for North Korea Monitoring

US Air Force RC-135S (Cobra Ball·photo) reconnaissance aircraft flew over South Korea for two consecutive days, conducting surveillance flights targeting North Korea.

According to aircraft tracking sites and the military on the 15th, the RC-135S took off from Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan, in the morning and headed toward the West Sea. It exposed its location in the West Sea area for two consecutive days, following the previous day.

US Forces in Japan Reconnaissance Aircraft and Our Air Force’s Peace Eye Mobilized to Prepare for North Korean Provocations

This reconnaissance aircraft, of which the US Air Force has three, has been flying over the Korean Peninsula for surveillance before and after North Korea’s missile provocations. From hundreds of kilometers away, it can capture telemetry information before missile launches, flight trajectories after launch, and impact points using advanced optical equipment and infrared sensors.

Currently, the main reconnaissance aircraft of the US Air Force in Japan include a set of three RC-135 variants. They gather enemy signal intelligence, electronic intelligence, and communications intelligence to identify the enemy’s location, intentions, and threatening activities in advance. The RC-135 trio consists of the RC-135W Rivet Joint, RC-135U Combat Sent, and RC-135S Cobra Ball, which are considered top reconnaissance assets. The RC-135W is a communications interception reconnaissance aircraft that captures signals transmitted from ground remote telemetry equipment before missile launches and is equipped with devices to analyze warhead trajectories.

Our military is also known to have deployed the Peace Eye on the same day, performing missions at an altitude of 30,000 feet (9.1 km) before North Korea’s missile launches. The Peace Eye is equipped with a multifunctional electronically scanned array (MESA) radar capable of simultaneously detecting about 1,000 targets in North Korean airspace and maritime areas. It can also detect short- and medium- to long-range ballistic missile launches.

South Korean and US military authorities are reportedly conducting detailed analyses of the flight trajectories, including altitude and range, of North Korean short-range missiles detected by reconnaissance aircraft from both countries on that day.

Recently, the US has deployed at least 22 reconnaissance aircraft of seven types over the Korean Peninsula. These include the Global Hawk (RQ-4) high-altitude unmanned reconnaissance aircraft, signal intelligence reconnaissance aircraft (EP-3), anti-submarine patrol aircraft (P-3C), and others such as Joint Stars. Additionally, KH-11 and KH-12 reconnaissance satellites, capable of detecting objects as small as 15 cm on the ground from altitudes of 600 to 700 km, are also reportedly deployed.

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