N. Korea developing long-distance drone – report
North Korea is developing a long-distance aerial UAV larger than those now in service that boasts greater range, South Korean media report, citing the government.
“The North is building larger drones with greater range and with the capability to be flown remotely by flight controllers,” an official from the South Korean Defense Ministry said, as cited by Yonhap news agency. The official added that Seoul has already detected several flights made by the new UAV.
The agency added that North Korean Chosun Central TV revealed a week ago that a new type of UAV is being developed. No photos of the state-of-the-art drone were provided, but it is said to have tracking capabilities and the ability to carry out real-time observation.
In total, North Korea has about 300 observation drones and about 10 weaponized UAVs, according to Yonhap.
Pyongyang unveiled its attack drone in 2013 on the 60th anniversary of the signing of the armistice that ended the Korean War.
South Korean military experts also say that the North may be upgrading drones that it brought in from China and the USSR in the past.
“The North clearly seems to be interested in building its own UAV to replace the old imported machines and copies of these drones that have crashed in South Korean territory in the past,” a Korean Defense and Security Forum source said, as cited by Yonhap.
The South Korean military said at the end of November that it is building a device to counter the North’s drones called an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) – a high-powered, directional generator capable of disabling drones
Meanwhile, Seoul is continuing to develop other anti-drone weapons, including a GPS jamming device and miniature rockets capable of taking down UAVs, according to Yonhap news agency.
