[Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club] Performance Upgrade of Baekdu Reconnaissance Aircraft Project Delay Unavoidable

The improved Baekdu reconnaissance aircraft is scheduled to make its maiden flight on the 8th at TSTC Airport in Waco, Texas, led by the American defense company L3.

[Asia Economy Reporter Yang Nak-gyu] The military has decided to proceed with the upgrade project for the Baekdu reconnaissance aircraft, but concerns are rising that the project will inevitably face delays. In 2017, the military carried out an upgrade project on two Baekdu reconnaissance aircraft capable of detecting North Korea's nuclear tests or missile launches in advance. However, since standardization was not implemented during the project process, it is inevitable that the project will be delayed if an additional upgrade project is carried out this time. Standardization refers to the project procedure that specifies manufacturing methods and other details.

According to the military on the 27th, to fill the gap left by the Global Hawk, a high-altitude unmanned reconnaissance aircraft without signal collection equipment, the military is currently operating six Baekdu reconnaissance aircraft. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) upgraded two Baekdu reconnaissance aircraft in 2017 as part of the '701 Project.'

The Baekdu reconnaissance aircraft were also equipped with the Fisint (Foreign Instrumentation Signals Intelligence) function developed by domestic defense companies LIG Nex1 and Hanwha Systems through the upgrade project. The Fisint function detects signal exchanges between electronic devices even when there is no movement in North Korean military communications, nuclear facilities, or missile bases. When the North Korean leadership presses the button to operate nuclear weapons or missiles, the signal is captured, allowing real-time monitoring on a computer of what commands are being sent to the missile launchers. The upgraded Baekdu reconnaissance aircraft can detect the main signals of the North Korean military related to missile launches at a distance of up to 370 km. Based on Pyongyang, this includes the Dongchang-ri missile base and the Yongbyon nuclear facility.

The endurance time of the upgraded Baekdu reconnaissance aircraft has also increased. The endurance time was extended to over 6 hours, and the operating altitude was raised to 40,000 feet (approximately 12 km). This is similar to the normal operating altitude (15 km) of the U-2 high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft operated by the United States Forces Korea, keeping it out of range of North Korea's surface-to-air missiles.

The issue lies with the upgrade project for the remaining four Baekdu reconnaissance aircraft. Currently, the four Baekdu reconnaissance aircraft operated by the military can only detect North Korea's electronic intelligence (Elint) and communications intelligence (Comint). Therefore, on the 26th, DAPA held the 128th Defense Acquisition Program Promotion Committee (hereafter DAPPC) meeting and reviewed and approved the 'Baekdu System Capability Enhancement Phase 2 Project Basic Strategy (Draft),' a project to reinforce the capabilities of the currently operated Baekdu reconnaissance aircraft. The project period is from 2021 to 2026, with a total budget of approximately 870 billion KRW.

However, since the standardization process was not conducted during the 2017 upgrade project, there are no established standards, and new standards must be created. The military expects that even if the upgrade project for the four Baekdu reconnaissance aircraft proceeds, the upgrade period will be delayed from 4 years to 8 years.

Meanwhile, at the same DAPPC meeting, DAPA also reviewed and approved the 'Decision on the Model for the Phase 2 Tactical Introduction Trainer Project (Draft).' DAPA decided to introduce the TA-50 Block-2 as the new tactical introduction trainer aircraft. The tactical introduction trainer refers to aircraft used for training combat pilots of the Air Force. Currently, the TA-50 advanced trainer is used as the Air Force's tactical introduction trainer. The Block-2 version, which was decided for introduction, is an improved version compared to the existing trainer. The project will proceed until 2024, with a total budget of approximately 1 trillion KRW.