12-mile ruck march, part of basic military training, maybe no more for #SouthKorean military, which is cutting basic training to 5 weeks.https://t.co/H0gMRNV1Wn
— Tara O (@DrTaraO) May 13, 2019
I doubt the Kim regime is too concerned about fighting animal robots:
– South Korea will rev up efforts to develop military robots mimicking animals and other creatures to better brace for evolving future battlefields, the arms procurement agency said Sunday.
Yonhap
In its latest document that outlines blueprints for key defense technologies development, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) rolled out its plan to actively apply the so-called biomimetics to the military’s future weapons systems.
If it proceeds as planned, several kinds of biobots, which replicate humans and insects, are expected to be deployed as early as 2024, DAPA said, adding that robots mimicking birds, snakes and other marine species could be part of the country’s military forces afterwards.
“Biometric robots will be a game changer in future warfare, and related technologies are expected to bring about great ripple effects throughout the defense industry,” agency spokesman Park Jeong-eun said, adding that their roles will range from search and rescue operations to reconnaissance.
In my opinion virtual training is useful, but cannot replace actually firing real weapons and training in a real environment:
Technology plays an integral part in modern warfare, and its role is even more important for countries like South Korea, which faces constant threats from North Korea.
Yonhap
In line with changing battlefield dynamics, the South Korean military has been pushing for ways to train soldiers in simulated environments using the latest technologies, such as virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR).
The Korea Military Academy has joined hands with local companies to develop VR and AR training programs for its Army cadets, which will be available on its Seoul campus later this year.
Experts say one of the key advantages of VR is the ability to immerse users in a virtual, yet safe, world, reducing costs and risks associated with battlefield training.
“Training soldiers using VR and AR content can save on the considerable budget for large-scale training and reduce risks from dangerous environments,” Kim Tae-kyu, a game professor at Kwangwoon University in Seoul, said. “It will be more beneficial when combined with real battlefield experiences.”
You can read more at the link.
The big upgrade for the Aegis destroyers is the ability to shoot down incoming ballistic missiles. The Moon administration must have some doubts then that North Korea has peaceful intentions:
South Korea on Tuesday approved plans to build next-generation Aegis-equipped destroyers and upgraded submarines to enhance the military’s operational capabilities, the arms procurement agency said.
Yonhap
The Defense Project Promotion Committee passed the plans to construct the second batch of three destroyers, called Gwanggaeto the Great Ⅲ, by 2028 with a budget of around 3.9 trillion won (US$3.3 billion), according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA).
The new Aegis destroyers will be outfitted with an upgraded missile launch system which will allow them to intercept ballistic missiles. They will also represent a marked upgrade in detection and tracking abilities, the agency noted.
The committee also approved a plan to build the next-generation indigenous submarine, the Jangbogo Ⅲ.
The project calls for building three 3,450-ton submarines that will be equipped with ballistic missile launchers with its own technology, using a budget of 3.4 billion won by 2028, according to the DAPA.
You can read more at the link.
There will be some naval action going in the waters off of Busan this week:
A large-scale multinational maritime exercise will begin in the country’s southern port city of Busan this week.
KBS World Radio
The Navy said on Sunday that South Korea, the ten-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and other partner countries will kick off a combined maritime security exercise in Busan from Monday to Thursday and in Singapore from May 9th to 13th.
The exercise involves 18 member countries of the maritime security expert working group of the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus), a defense dialogue mechanism involving ASEAN and other countries, including the United States.
The Navy said 12 countries will send 16 warships and six aircraft for the exercise, while six other countries will send only military personnel.
I guess besides people becoming Jehovah’s Witnesses they can now eat their way out of their mandatory military service:
A man accused of putting on weight by eating fried chicken to avoid mandatory military service was acquitted of breaking the law on conscription, Incheon District Court said Sunday.
The 22-year-old college student reportedly underwent a physical examination for military service in August 2016. The test showed that the man, who weighed 106 kilograms and was 169.6 centimeters tall at the time, had Body Mass Index of 36.8.
People with BMI of 33 and higher can be exempted from full-time military service and work as a public service worker.The prosecutors indicted the man for violating the military service law, arguing that he deliberately gained weight by eating fried chicken and drinking alcohol ahead of the physical exam to avoid the conscription. They also accused the man of stooping when getting his height measured so as to increase his BMI.
Korea Herald
You can read more at the link.
Here is an example of a unique ROK Air Force unit:
The Air Force’s 8th Fighter Wing is emerging as a symbol of South Korea’s growing independent military capabilities, with its combat fleet consisting only of domestically developed warplanes, officials said Sunday.
Joong Ang Ilbo
The unit in Wonju, Gangwon, has two operators of the FA-50 fighter – the 103rd Fighter Squadron and the 203rd Fighter Squadron – and the 237th Tactical Control Squadron running the KA-1 airfield control aircraft.
The FA-50 is a light-attack fighter based on the design of the T-50 trainer jet manufactured by the Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), the country’s sole aircraft maker.
Armed with AIM-9, AGM-65G and other missiles, the plane can conduct air-to-air and air-to-ground operations.
You can read more at the link.
Fortunately no one was killed from this accidental firing of a Cheolmae-2 missile which is South Korea’s equivalent of a Patriot missile:
The inadvertent launch of an anti-aircraft missile at a military base in Chuncheon, Gangwon, on Monday was the result of maintenance accident, the South Korean Air Force said on Thursday.
Joong Ang Ilbo
After it was launched from a vehicle during a routine maintenance check, the Cheongung medium-range surface-to-air (SAM) missile exploded mid-air at around 10:38 p.m. on Monday. There were no casualties, nor was there property damage, but the accident spurred an investigation by the Air Force.
Following an on-site inspection and testimonies from witnesses, investigators concluded that the launch was unintentionally triggered by human error during a routine maintenance check.
“During regular check-ups, mechanics are supposed to disconnect a cable plugged into the missile used in real operations and plug in a testing cable, but the communication between the mechanics was unclear and the check-up was performed without disconnecting the operational cable,” said an Air Force spokesman. “This caused the test launch signal transmitted by the mechanics’ laptop to trigger a launch, and the missile exploded mid-air around 3.5 seconds after launch due to its automatic self-destruction system.”
The missile is equipped with a mechanism that causes it to explode in the event of guidance system failures after launch, according to the Air Force’s briefing on the accident on Monday.
Also known as the Cheolmae-2, the Cheongung SAM system was developed by the domestic arms producer Agency for Defense Development (ADD) based on the Russian 50R6 Vityaz and S-400 Triumf systems. Each missile costs around 1.5 billion won ($1.3 million) to produce, and a total budget of 1.2 trillion won has been allocated toward the project as a whole.
You can read more at the link.
Moon admin plan to dismantle the strongest Mechanized Forces in S.Korea.This particular Force is Korean War Legend which known to demolished 3 N.K divisions during Korean War. Soldiers in this group even salute each other "Strike North!"to boost morale.https://t.co/youmwnafqi
— Dong Yon Kim/김동연 기자 (@dongyonews) March 3, 2019
Silly season between the ROK and Japan continues. I expect the ROK government will continue to push anti-Japanese issues to their domestic audience up to the March 1st Independence Movement Day holiday:
South Korean Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo has instructed the Navy to sternly deal with the repeated low-altitude flybys by Japanese warplanes, describing them as “a serious provocation by an ally,” his ministry said Saturday.
Yonhap
He made the remarks during his unscheduled visit to the Fleet Command in the southern port city of Busan, the ministry said later in a release.
The minister was briefed on the details regarding multiple close-range flights by Japanese maritime patrol planes toward South Korean destroyers in recent weeks.
You can read more at the link, but the most obvious question is what is the ROK Navy going to do, radio sternly worded messages to the aircraft?
