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Korea to develop 'hard kill' anti-drone system by 2023

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A U.S. Air Force MQ-9 Reaper, the drone model suspected to have been used for the assassination of prominent Iranian military leader Qassem Soleimani. Captured from U.S. Air Force homepage
A U.S. Air Force MQ-9 Reaper, the drone model suspected to have been used for the assassination of prominent Iranian military leader Qassem Soleimani. Captured from U.S. Air Force homepage

By Kim Hyun-bin

The U.S. military drone strike that assassinated prominent Iranian military leader Qassem Soleimani has awakened the need for the development of anti-drone systems.

According to government sources, Wednesday, the Agency for Defense Development is currently on a track to develop anti-aircraft laser weaponry that is capable of neutralizing attack drones.

"We're moving forward with the development of anti-drone threats as such threats have increased over the last few years and we were in need of developing an effective counter weapons system," a government official said.

There are two large categories of anti-drone technology consisting of "hard kill", where a laser beam directly impacts and destroys the drone and another is "soft kill" which instantly suspends the flight of the drone disrupting its electronic signals.

The hard kill method is a relatively cheaper technology to take on drone-oriented threats as it uses seamless laser beams to target vulnerable areas of the drone, creating intense heat and setting fire to the target.

The Agency for Defense Development has acquired key laser beam technology and is on its way to focusing on systematic sophistication and miniaturization of the new weapons system.

"We started to develop the hard kill system last year and have acquired key laser technologies. We aim to finish development within 2023," an Agency for Defense Development official said.

The downside of the hard kill method are its limitations due to the weather situation such as rain and snow. A lack of visibility of the target could cause difficulty in intercepting it. The Korean government is also considering the soft kill method using jamming technology.

Jamming deliberately blocks, jams or interferes with authorized wireless communications. In some cases jammers transmit radio signals to disrupt GPS communications by decreasing the signal-to-noise ratio, instantly halting the drone movement as it nullifies the GPS function.

The Ministry of Defense is reviewing the marketability of the new soft kill method and is expected to make a decision whether or not to implement the system in the first half of this year. When deemed necessary to implement, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) will be in charge of the project overseeing the development and purchase of the system.

Recently, a company in Korea developed a drone jamming system that is capable of disrupting the electronic signals of drones from a distance of 200 meters.


Kim Hyun-bin hyunbin@koreatimes.co.kr


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