The ROKAF has unveiled a three stage plan that will see it deploying spy satellites and anti-satellite weapons after 2020.
For the first stage, it will start research on a laser based anti-satellite system and deploy a radar capable of tracking ballistic missiles. The second stage will see the deployment of an optical satellite tracking system, and equipment capable of receiving images taken by satellites. This will all culminate with the deployment of spy satellites, satellite launch vehicles, and a laser capable of shooting down satellites.
OK, I can see the need for Korea’s own spy satellite, since it will increase its intelligence collection capabilities while reducing its dependency on the US for satellite recon photos. But a laser for shooting down satellites? Not that far fetched considering that Doosan is working on a laser for shooting down artillery shells and rockets. But, one wonders why the ROKAF will need one. Unless it wants to shoot down Japanese satellites taking a peek at Dokdo?
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well i would wonder if the AF is responsible for shooting down their own dead satellites as China did. Could a laser be good for this? I guess the other reason is that, like cyber-warfare, shooting satellites seems to be the new kind of attack everyone fancies.
counter PRChina.
not Japan.
http://www.kodef.net/modules.p.....amp;t=8211
unrelated, but those prc guys are evil. They created north korea. they keep it going as a buffer. they hold the mortgage on their resources. and they imagine it’s one of their fruitless foreign aid recepients. and the crack jokes.
i have no problem with hwa gyo chinese koreans.
these prc pigs can go to hell.
if a plane flies over a country, you can call it your airspace and get all huffy about it. If a satellite orbits over your country, can you call it your space…space and get all huffy over it too? What if said satellite flies over Dokdo?
Well then you gotta shoot it down.
Anti-satellite weaponry, as noted by the Economist few weeks ago (yes, that is my second Bible), will become one of the critical field of weapons in the near future. As SK government seems to be focused on updating their military weaponry (Fighters, warships, tanks, etc.) without regards to cost, I don’t think it’s unreasonable for them to go for it.
But anti-artillery/rockets lasers huh? Wouldn’t that significantly reduce the chance of “Seoul turning into sea of flames” scenario?
And didn’t an Israeli company already invent something like that? It was to be on a tank and would shoot down incoming rpgs…
“And didn’t an Israeli company already invent something like that? It was to be on a tank and would shoot down incoming rpgs…”
The Russians invented it–the Arena system (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A.....ion_System)–but it destroys anti-tank guided missiles before they impact a tank, not RPGs. The South Koreans use a similar active defense system on the recently completed XK-2 main battle tank (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XK2).
Assuming that a) the ROK government and Doosan don’t give up on the R&D and b) it works as designed.
Long time no see, Haeksang.
There is also an Israeli system from Rafael called Trophy. It is currently being tested on a Stryker AFV and I think it is also installed on a Merkava MBT.
http://www.rafael.co.il/market.....;docID=963
From a magazine I read, the ROKA considered procuring the Trophy but dropped it because it couldn’t protect armored vehicles from ATGWs that are attacking the top armor of armored vehicles.
As for the XK-2 it currently only has a passive defense system, but an active defense system is included in its future plans. The active defense system will be based on the Russian Arena.
A laser might be able to do it (the most likely candidate is one mounted on a 747 or other high-flying vessel, in order to minimize the atmospheric distortion), but for dead satellites, it’s really much better just to leave them in orbit. After all, one big, uncontrollable object is much better than several thousand smaller ones. I’m sure that every time anyone shoots down a satellite, there’s probably some guy in NASA that loses it, ‘cuz they’ve suddenly got that many more objects that they need to track (in order to keep clear stuff like space shuttles, international space stations, and other satellites) that are just that much harder to track. Unless you’ve got a satellite that’s de-orbiting anyhow, and you’re worried that it might hit the lottery and actually damage something other than empty ground or an ocean, shooting down a dead satellite causes a lot more problems than it would propose to solve. More likely, the real purpose of a system like this would be either to A) knock out communications and surveillance satellites in the event of an actual war or B) shoot down missiles.
The original article says “after” 2020, not “by” 2020. To be sure, the announced plan’s timeline is frustratingly vague, and the article could have done a much better job of explaining what “after 2020″ means, but launching a spy satellite by 2020 is so unrealistic that it can’t be a viable interpretation of the plan. That kind of propaganda would make NK blush.
Yes Timmy, my mistake and it has been corrected. I don’t think launching a spy satellite by 2020 is unrealistic. Korea already has the Arirang-2 satellite in orbit which has an digital camera(I believe its optics are Israeli) with a 1 meter resolution.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arirang-2
Launching a satellite equipped with a camera that has a smaller resolution, isn’t technically that far away.
Based on the stated goals in this article, it looks like Seoul has just about completed phase one of this plan and is working on phase 2. South Korea’s been in negotiations with Germany to purchase and upgrade two battalions of PAC-2 missiles from Germany (http://www.spacewar.com/reports/South_Korea_Wants_To_Buy_Second_Hand_Patriot_Missiles_From_Germany_999.html). This will give the ROK a basic missile defense capability to go along with the capabilities it is getting with the AEGIS systems it is deploying on the KDX-III.
As Mins points out, Seoul is also starting to put its own imagery satellites into orbit. Korea expects to complete its space center early this year and launch its first space launch vehicle from it (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naro_Space_Center). This center will also allow the ROK to launch classified payloads without having to expose them to another country. Until this center is complete, Seoul has no option other than to rely on other countries to put it satellites into space. The US launched the Arirang-1 and Russia launched the Arirang-2.
The laser -if it works, and that’s a very big if - would be useless. Korean society lacks the cajones to ever fire it.
I stand corrected. I hadn’t heard about the Naro Space Center — that’s some fascinating stuff. The technological advances in Korea are so rapid, it’s hard to keep up.