USFK has some new capability forward deployed on the peninsula:
The U.S. is to deploy new attack drones in South Korea that could be used to kill North Korean leaders and launch pinpoint strikes on its missile launch pads.
Twelve Gray Eagle/MQ-1Cs will arrive at an air base in Gunsan, North Jeolla Province in March and April. Their deployment coincides with joint South Korea-U.S. drills that will be staged in early April right after the closing of the Winter Paralympics in Pyeongchang.
Construction of a hangar and other support facilities was completed late last month, and support personnel have already arrived. [Chosun Ilbo]
Ryu Hee-in, a senior official of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, visits a security control center of the PyeongChang Olympics Organizing Committee in the northeastern alpine city of PyeongChang in this photo provided by the ministry on Jan. 17, 2018.
The U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) is providing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and other assistance to help ensure security during the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Sunday.
The USFK’s UAVs have been mobilized for surveillance activities around all stadiums to prevent possible terrorist attacks and accidents during the Olympics and the Paralympics. The Olympics run through next Sunday, while the Paralympics will take place from March 9-18.
“The USFK is offering UAV support in close cooperation with South Korean and U.S. military authorities, as well as the Olympic organizing committee, the ministries of foreign affairs and defense, and the U.S. Department of State,” the JCS said.
“This clearly shows that the solid South Korea-U.S. alliance is shining more at the scenes of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics,” it added.
The UAVs are producing live video feeds, which the Olympic security control center uses to protect Olympic venues from any potential dangers.
The type of UAVs remains unknown. But the USFK is known to operate small ones, such as the RQ-11B Raven and the RQ-7B Shadow. [Yonhap]
This technology makes me wonder if a more powerful version of it could be to counter manned aircraft as well?:
This undated picture, provided by the Agency for Defense Development (ADD), shows a high-powered electromagnetic pulse (EMP) generator developed by the ADD. (Yonhap)
South Korea is developing a technology to bring down unmanned North Korean aircraft using electromagnetic pulse (EMP), military officials said Sunday.
According to the officials, the Agency for Defense Development (ADD) has developed a directional, high-powered EMP generator, and it’s trying to devise ways to use it against small North Korean unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
An EMP occurs when a nuclear device is detonated at a high altitude, potentially damaging the power grid and rendering most electronic devices useless.
The ADD is said to be studying unmanned aircraft’s potential weaknesses against EMP. Its EMP generator and its potential defense against drones were presented during a conference hosted by the Korea Institute of Military Science and Technology last week. [Yonhap]
