[Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club] Who Is the Main Player in the Baekdu Reconnaissance Aircraft Upgrade Project?

The improved Baekdu reconnaissance aircraft was developed by investing 300 billion won to import the Falcon 2000 model, an aircraft from Dassault in France, and modifying the fuselage at Korean Air.

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] Our military currently possesses a total of six Baekdu reconnaissance aircraft. Four were introduced in the 1990s, and last year, two new Baekdu reconnaissance aircraft were deployed. The name "Baekdu" was given because the detection range extends as far as Baekdu Mountain.

The Baekdu reconnaissance aircraft is an intelligence asset capable of capturing only North Korea's electronic intelligence (Elint) and communications intelligence (Comint). Electronic and communications intelligence is obtained through wiretapping or eavesdropping to learn about equipment operations such as radar activation and the contents of wired and wireless communications. Additionally, a measurement intelligence (Fisint) function developed by domestic defense companies LIG Nex1 and Hanwha Thales has been added. The measurement intelligence function detects signal exchanges between electronic devices even if there is no movement at North Korean military communications, nuclear facilities, or missile bases. In the case of missile launches, the main signal detection range of the North Korean military reaches 370 km. Based on Pyongyang, this includes the Dongchang-ri missile base and the Yongbyon nuclear facility.

Moreover, the endurance time of the upgraded Baekdu reconnaissance aircraft has increased. The endurance time has been extended to over 6 hours, and the operating altitude 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 possessed by the United States Forces Korea, thus staying out of the range of North Korean surface-to-air missiles.

The military is also preparing a performance upgrade project for the four Baekdu reconnaissance aircraft deployed in the 1990s. The project period is from this year until 2026, with a total budget of about 870 billion KRW. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration plans to announce a bid for selecting a contractor for the Baekdu system capability enhancement development project.

The four Baekdu reconnaissance aircraft targeted for performance upgrades were modified and developed based on the French Dassault Falcon 2000S business jet. However, since the Falcon 2000S has been discontinued, the Falcon 2000LXS business jet from the same company is expected to be used as the next model.

In this performance upgrade project, Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) and Korean Air are expected to compete. At the 'KAI CEO Investor Day' held on March 29 for major domestic and international institutional investors and analysts, Ahn Hyun-ho, CEO of Korea Aerospace Industries, announced plans to focus on KF-X fighter jet mass production, domestic development of military transport aircraft, and modification and development of special mission aircraft.

However, there are concerns that the performance upgrade project may inevitably be delayed, and voices are emerging that the company which handled the first performance upgrade should also take charge of the second to speed up the process. When the military conducted the first performance upgrade project in 2017, standardization was not implemented, making delays unavoidable if an additional upgrade project proceeds this time. Standardization refers to the business procedure that specifies manufacturing methods, etc. Additionally, Korean Air is evaluated to have secured a business lead by signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for aircraft purchase with French Dassault.

A government official said, "The Baekdu reconnaissance aircraft detects electronic, communications, and measurement intelligence emitted from nuclear and missile facilities such as Yongbyon and Dongchang-ri, as well as North Korean military movements along the Demilitarized Zone," adding, "It will minimize gaps in monitoring the entire North Korean territory as much as possible."