[Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club] Developing Drones That Self-Destruct to Detect North Korean Radar

Suicide drones operated by the Air Force Harpy Operations Battalion

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] The domestication project for drones capable of suppressing North Korean radars is expected to accelerate. Until now, the Air Force has used the Harpy drone, which detects enemy radar during flight and self-destructs, but due to difficulties in logistics support, it has decided to develop the drone domestically.

According to the military, the Air Force established the Harpy Operation Battalion in the 8th Fighter Wing and deployed Harpy drones in actual combat since 1999 with a budget of 60 billion KRW. One Harpy launch vehicle operates 18 Harpy drones.

The Harpy, including its warhead, weighs about 152 kg and can ascend up to 3 km altitude. It can conduct operations within a radius of 400 to 500 km. During the Korean War, North Korea, which suffered large-scale air bombings by the United Nations (UN) forces, densely built a spider-web-like radar network centered around Pyongyang as a major air defense system. Considering this, the Harpy is an essential asset for striking North Korean command centers.

However, Israel's IAI, the manufacturer of the Harpy, demanded an additional 25 billion KRW for 10 years of follow-up support starting from 2019. As a result, the Air Force effectively gave up on logistics support.

In response, Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) signed a memorandum of understanding with Israel's IAI last year regarding loitering munitions and plans to begin development. The military also officially started the domestication project last March by announcing a preliminary research and analysis for the Loitering Air Defense Suppression Guided Weapon-II project.

The military currently plans to request the performance of the Harpy 2 developed by IAI. With added remote control functionality, it can strike targets in real-time using optical equipment even if North Korea does not activate its radar. It is equipped internally with a 23 kg warhead.