[Yang Nak-gyu's Defence photo] Enhanced Coastal Surveillance System Is

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] Since the 2019 incident of a North Korean wooden boat entering Samcheok Port, the military has been increasing its surveillance and monitoring capabilities. An additional medium-to-large vessel has been deployed in the Northern Limit Line (NLL) area, where North Korean small boats frequently appear, and the number of maritime patrol flights by patrol aircraft and maritime operation helicopters has also been increased. Maritime surveillance unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have been deployed to forward bases. The unmanned helicopter-type ‘Camcopter S-100’ is planned to be deployed for multiple purposes including intelligence gathering and maritime surveillance operations. Although lightweight at 3 meters in length and 150 kg in weight, it is capable of real-time video capture and transmission. The Navy is also considering deploying upgraded versions of the S-100 on destroyers and other warships in the future.

UAVs such as the ‘Songgolmae’ deployed to army corps-level units are also being used for coastal surveillance missions, with plans to share the collected information. The reconnaissance UAV Songgolmae, deployed to corps-level units in the early 2000s, has an operational radius of 100 km and a flight endurance of 4 to 5 hours.

Additionally, day and night coastal mobile search operations have been strengthened, and an ‘Integrated Information Management System’ operated by the Coast Guard and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries has been installed. Separately, the Navy plans to sequentially deploy about 10 units of the new maritime radar ‘GPS200K’ to radar bases nationwide, including the East, West, and South Seas, by 2025.

The Ministry of National Defense has especially converted some surveillance equipment under the Ground Operations Command (GOC), which operates during wartime, such as battalion-level UAVs and thermal imaging surveillance equipment (TOD)-type 3, for coastal surveillance purposes, and has accelerated the deployment of new coastal surveillance radars. There are types 2 and 3 of the TOD, with only type 3 capable of 24-hour day and night surveillance. It can identify people at a distance of 8 km and vehicles at about 15 km. The military has deployed about 40 units of TOD type 3 early. TOD, which had been operated only at night, is known to have already transitioned to a 24-hour operation system.

The use of vertical takeoff and landing unmanned aerial vehicles for coastal reconnaissance is also accelerating. These UAVs equipped with surveillance reconnaissance cameras are operated from warships or coastal surveillance units. In the future, when each military branch requests the necessary quantities from the Ministry of National Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the number of deployments and budget allocations are expected to be assigned accordingly.