Reversing its long time policy of refusing to sell Global Hawks to S. Korea, the U.S., according the the Chosun, has indicated that it may be willing to approve the sale of the aforementioned UAV(Unmanned Aerial Vehicle)s.
Now one will think that the ROK Defense Ministry will be jumping with joy at the news, since it has been continually requesting the Global Hawks for two years. Well, it seems that the opposite is the case. The Defense Ministry has stated that it is having “difficulties” in getting the 210 million USD required to procure the UAVs and that it isn’t “prepared” to operate them. So, it is looking into putting the Global Hawk purchase on the back burner. Instead, the MND will “concentrate” on the local development of a MALE(Medium Altitude Long Endurance) UAV, which will begin this year.
I guess the U-2s in Osan will be the next unit to leave Korea.
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18 Comments
Honestly what does SK need UAV’s for? How would having them help the SK military?
Spend that money on improving its core military infrastructure and quality of life for its troops.
Hey, if the Marmot can have both an XBox and a PS3, why can’t the RoK military have their toys?
McNork,
If the DPRK Armed Forces shoot down a UAV, no one is killed. If they shoot down a manned a/c or sentry, a human life is lost. And the UAVs can be operated from well behind the DMV…
Or didn’t that part register with you?
#3,
UAV, fixed-wing aircraft, helicopter … if the ROK isn’t sending patrols over the DMZ in the first place what difference does it make?
“Or didn’t that part register with you?”
Pasha, if you don’t think ROK personnel have been killed by DPRK actions in the DMZ in the last year, it’s because you were sniffing paint-thinner.
Or maybe you just believe that all the fat boy up north wants is “uni”… and that your life won’t be affected by it…
Or are just unaware of the view from more than bar-stool high off the ground?
UAVs (and other “robots”) save lives. And if that doesn’t make it through your skull, maybe you should be careful around open flames…
Those UAV’s form an artillery shield I believe. Given the number of pieces pointed at Seoul I’d say they are very important.
jbt what doesn’t register with you is that Korea will not have another war with NK.
It’s not gonna happen period.
So if they are justifying UAVs to send over the DMZ that’s quite ridiculous.
And your point about soldiers being killed in the DMZ proves what?
Yes, soldiers die in the DMZ and????? They also die in Pusan. And in naval clashes with NK as well.
Korea needs basic military infrastructure not high tech billion dollar toys.
#6 UAV are not used for missile or artillery defense. They are used mostly for recon and intel flights and some have been outfitted with air to ground munitions to take out car loads of terrorists once in a while.
Korea is one of the worst allies the US has ever had. Not only is it time for the Apaches to be shipped out, let’s get the rest of the miitary out too!
Military that is…
Angry white man #190812310923810398130 in Korea.
A global hawk could be useful for towing Samsung advertising banners without putting any pilots in harms’ way or maybe the CJ group could buy one to use on “Sexy Mong” to help find those awful English teachers before they put date-rape drugs into unsuspecting women’s drinks.
I suspect the real story is that ROK Government is getting even more serious to develop its defense industry as a major exporter.
Buying the Global Hawk would be very expensive as it is the state of the art platform among UAVs. With S Korea using the same money to develop the MALE, it could in effect also be developing the FEMALE (”For Export MALE”)
Hmmm…perhaps I should see if I can register that moniker before anyone else does…
Seriously, though, the ROK Government would like to see its military products be as globally competitive as its commercial products in the international market. So, I’m sure the MALE/FEMALE may be part of a longer-term export drive orchestrated by the Blue House and/or the MND.
Tom,
Good observation. Exactly what I was trying to say in the earlier post about the Apache.
The acronyms slay me.
#13, Very good point!
#5, “Wah, Wah, Insult, Insult”
I get the impression you spend more time trying to be offensive than you do making your point. But that’s just me.
To return to the topic at hand, I don’t deny that a UAV can save lives. The question is - how much use will the ROK get out of them in the present situation? Are satellite images that poor for the needs of the ROK army? Is the ROK air force losing that many pilots to recon sorties over the border?
Of course, I guess China isn’t that far away either …
That is a good idea. There is another big potential selling point **maybe** in buying Korean gear — only if it uses Korean chips and chipsets that are guaranteed free of kill switches and other nasties, thus insuring that the gear can not be compromised. (see The Hunt for the Kill Switch):
I suspect that Korea has some very serious security housecleaning in regards to protecting its technology; there seem to be quite a few problems, judging from the last decade of news.
I don’t have anything against the domestic military industry, but one wonders if this should be done while sacrificing military readiness. I once remember a former commander of the Israeli Air Force saying that the objective of the Air Force was to defend Israel, not prop up the local aerospace industry.
In Korea, the military is being asked to wait several years for locally made equipment, which are in some cases, rehashes of existing foreign equipment, when it is possible to buy proven off-the-shelf equipment cheaply and quickly.
IMO, military readiness should come first, not the creation of an export based defense industry.