[Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club] The Level of 'North-South Attack Drones' Seen from the Perspective of Attack

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Yang Nak-gyu] Attention is being focused on unmanned attack drones possessed by both South and North Korea. The United States demonstrated the combat capability of the MQ-9 Reaper drone by deploying it to eliminate Qasem Soleimani, a key figure in the Iranian military and commander of the Quds Force (an elite unit of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps). This is why the MQ-9 Reaper is called the "Sky Assassin" or "Hunter-killer."

According to foreign media on the 6th, the U.S. attacked Soleimani's vehicle on the road at Baghdad International Airport in Iraq using the MQ-9 Reaper. The U.S. military utilized all reconnaissance means, including communication interception and intelligence satellites, to track Soleimani's movements. The information collected by reconnaissance was transmitted in real-time via satellite to the ground drone operation control center located in the U.S. mainland. Based on this, drone pilots remotely controlled the drone to precisely track and strike the target.

Drone attacks became a reality last September when two major oil facilities of Saudi Arabia's state-owned oil company Aramco were attacked. At that time, 10 drones attacked, halting operations at facilities that processed 7 million barrels per day, accounting for 70% of Saudi Arabia's total oil production. Unmanned attack drones are equipped with various missiles and bombs that can identify targets and immediately attack them, marking the beginning of the "drone warfare" era.

The MQ-9 Reaper deployed to eliminate Soleimani has been operationally deployed in about 90 units. It can carry 14 AGM-114 Hellfire air-to-ground missiles or 4 AGM-114 Hellfire missiles and 2 GBU-12 laser-guided bombs. It also operates AIM-92 Stinger air-to-air missiles. Fully armed, it can stay airborne for 14 hours. Its armament capacity and maximum range are both twice that of the MQ-1 Predator. The MQ-9 Reaper replaces the retiring MQ-1 drone. It is 11 meters long, has a wingspan of 20 meters, a maximum takeoff weight of 4,760 kg, a top speed of 482 km/h, and a range of 5,926 km. It was first deployed in Afghanistan in 2007.

North Korea is also known to possess over 1,000 unmanned aerial vehicles and has reportedly deployed about 100 suicide-type unmanned attack drones in operational service. In 2014, the Ministry of National Defense reported to the National Assembly's Defense Committee regarding the crash of North Korean flying objects, stating, "North Korea possesses over 1,000 unmanned aerial vehicles, and especially, about 100 suicide-type unmanned strike drones publicly revealed in March last year are believed to be operationally deployed."

The report at that time included the decoding results of return coordinates entered in the GPS codes installed on three recently crashed drones. Once the return coordinates of the drones are decoded, the exact launch area can be identified. The Ministry of National Defense, through a joint investigation, concluded that the small unmanned aerial vehicles were launched from North Korean front-line units located 15 to 20 km from the Military Demarcation Line (MDL).

North Korea's unmanned attack drones were first revealed to the world in 2013 when photos were published by the Korean Central News Agency. The drones developed by North Korea are presumed to be copies of the MQM-107 Streaker developed by the U.S. company Raytheon in the 1980s and deployed at the front lines since 1987. The MQM-107 Streaker is 5.5 meters long, has a wingspan of 3 meters, a maximum speed of 925 km/h, and a maximum altitude of 12,190 meters. It is powered by a jet engine.

North Korea has conducted several tests by equipping high-speed target drones, believed to have been imported from Middle Eastern countries such as Syria, with high-explosive bombs, but intelligence agencies have analyzed that they have not yet reached the completion stage. These drones are believed to be deployed to various units of the 4th Corps stationed in the maritime area, targeting South Korean military units on the northwestern islands. North Korea purchased several American-made unmanned target drones through Syria and developed unmanned attack drones based on them. These drones carry small bombs and perform suicide attacks on targets up to 250 km away. Some claim that North Korea could launch a large-scale biochemical attack on South Korea within an hour using 300 to 400 drones in an emergency.

Among the unmanned aerial vehicles possessed by the South Korean military, the only attack-capable drone is the HARRY, an anti-radar suppression drone operated by the Air Force. The South Korean Air Force established the HARRY operation squadron at the 8th Fighter Wing, investing 60 billion won, and has been deploying HARRY operationally since 1999. One HARRY launch vehicle operates 18 HARRY drones. Launched from the ground, HARRY flies for about 2 to 5 hours in the air, and when it detects enemy radar signals, it immediately rushes toward the radar and self-destructs.

From the moment the enemy detects the launch of HARRY, they cannot operate their radar, allowing friendly fighter jets or unmanned aerial vehicles to infiltrate enemy territory. The weight of HARRY, including its warhead, is about 152 kg, and it can ascend up to 3 km altitude. It can operate within a radius of 400 to 500 km. During the Korean War, North Korea suffered large-scale air bombings by UN forces and has since densely established radar networks like a spider web around key points centered on Pyongyang. Considering this, HARRY is an essential asset for striking North Korea's command headquarters.

However, the manufacturer, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), raised the cost of follow-up support from 2019, leading the Air Force to effectively give up on logistics support. The Air Force had planned to receive follow-up logistics support until 2018 when introducing HARRY, but IAI reportedly demanded an additional 25 billion won for 10 years of support starting in 2019. IAI claimed additional costs would include 11.5 billion won for replacing aging parts, 4.8 billion won for replacing radar-absorbing materials in the seeker, and 6.1 billion won for upgrading ground equipment. However, the South Korean Air Force believes that 7.4 billion won is sufficient for HARRY's logistics support.

Meanwhile, Israel is currently developing and using an upgraded version called HARRY 2. The difference from the HARRY 1 model is the inclusion of a TV seeker. Unlike the previous model that attacks upon detecting radar signals, HARRY 2 transmits video to the friendly launch base via the TV seeker. If the enemy waits without turning on the radar, the friendly weapons controller can confirm the transmitted image and issue an attack order as soon as the radar site is identified.