North Korea Developing Attack Drone Targeting Cheongung Radar

Yoo Yong-won Lawmaker "Seems to Be Developing Suicide Drones Dedicated to Suppressing Enemy Air Defense Networks"

Among the new suicide drones unveiled by North Korea, there is an analysis suggesting that some models are designed to track radar waves emitted by our military's radar systems and destroy the radar.

North Korean media reported on Kim Jong-un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission, conducting an on-site inspection of drone tests, and among the photos released on the 26th, there is an image showing a drone flying toward a square structure. The office of Rep. Yoo Yong-won of the People Power Party analyzed on the 27th that this structure is presumed to simulate a multifunction radar (MFR) included in the Cheongung-II system, known as the "Korean-style Patriot," which is operated by the Air Force Missile Defense Command as a surface-to-air missile.

The drone flying toward the structure is blurred by North Korea and not clearly identifiable, but it is analyzed to be the stingray-shaped drone among the two types of drones North Korea revealed. The stingray-shaped drone is similar to the Israeli-developed long-endurance suicide drone "Harop." The Harop is a successor to the Israeli-made "Harpy" drone introduced by the South Korean military in the 1990s and is also called the Harpy-2 model. Both the Harpy and Harop are suicide drones that track enemy radar or communication signals once detected and destroy radar and communication bases.

Rep. Yoo said, "An internal fuselage antenna similar to those equipped on the Harop or Harpy can be identified on the North Korean drone," adding, "It seems to be developed as a suicide drone dedicated to Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD), similar to the Harop." SEAD refers to missions that suppress enemy air defense systems, mainly those based on radar.

Since the mission involves destroying radars and other equipment used to detect opposing aircraft, performing it with manned aircraft carries significant risks. Replacing this with unmanned drones can greatly reduce costs and risks. Although South Korea's air defense power is considered to have an absolute advantage over North Korea, if North Korea deploys large quantities of cost-effective drones to destroy air defense networks, it could pose a new challenge.

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