[Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club] Establishment of the Air Force 39th Reconnaissance Wing... Why?

Global Hawk Block 30

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] The 39th Reconnaissance Flight Group, which will integrate and operate our military's reconnaissance capabilities, is being established. With the introduction of the high-altitude unmanned reconnaissance Global Hawk and the domestically developed medium-altitude reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicle (MUAV), the military aims to strengthen surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities by compensating for the shortcomings of each reconnaissance aircraft.

According to the Air Force on the 3rd, our military has been operating reconnaissance assets such as Geumgang and Baekdu (RC-800), and Saemae (RF-16) reconnaissance aircraft. Geumgang and Saemae have been collecting video information from the area connecting Nampo to Hamhung in North Korea, while Baekdu has been gathering signal intelligence such as electronic intelligence (Elint) and communications intelligence (Comint) from North Korea. Geumgang and Baekdu (RC-800) are deployed to the Air Force's 15th Fighter Wing, and Saemae reconnaissance aircraft are assigned to the 19th Fighter Wing.

Additionally, four Global Hawks have been delivered. However, there have been aircraft defects such as oil leaks from the landing gear that absorbs shock during landing. Even when the Global Hawk is deployed on normal missions, it lacks signal collection equipment, so it must be used simultaneously with Geumgang, Baekdu (RC-800), and Saemae (RF-16) reconnaissance aircraft.

Even if the MUAV is militarized, it is difficult to deploy it immediately in operations. In 2017, issues such as delays in the introduction of the Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) system and data link defects occurred, and in 2018, the testing and evaluation period was postponed. As a result, the development schedule was delayed again to September 2019, nine months later.

If the MUAV's militarization is delayed, the fatigue of the Global Hawk will inevitably accumulate. Initially, the military planned to have the developed MUAV conduct reconnaissance near the northern region, while the Global Hawk would reconnoiter the northern part of the northern region. However, due to the delay in MUAV development, the Global Hawk must conduct reconnaissance over the entire northern region. If the Global Hawk alone were to reconnoiter 1,000 targets in the northern region, it would require 24 hours of flight. But if the mission is divided between the MUAV and the region, 10 hours would be sufficient.

The military believes that by consolidating and operating reconnaissance assets currently operated by each Air Force unit, command and control can be enhanced to compensate for the shortcomings of each reconnaissance aircraft. Meanwhile, the data collected by the 39th Reconnaissance Flight Group will be precisely analyzed by the Air Force Aviation Intelligence Group. Established in 2017, the Aviation Intelligence Group has an Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance Department and an Operations Planning Office, overseeing subordinate units such as the Imagery Intelligence Production Battalion, Target Intelligence Production Battalion, Surveillance Reconnaissance System Battalion, and Electronic Intelligence Production Battalion.