Now we know what caused a USFK F-16 to crash this past December:
The crash of an Air Force fighter jet off South Korea’s western coast last year was due to the loss of instrumentation and poor weather, according to a 7th Air Force news release Friday. The F-16C Fighting Falcon was over the Yellow Sea on Dec. 11 when it crashed “due to loss of primary flight and navigation instruments during adverse weather conditions,” the release states. The fighter belonged to the 8th Fighter Wing at Kunsan Air Base, 115 miles south of Seoul.
The pilot survived the crash although the aircraft was a total loss, according to 7th Air Force. The Accident Investigation Board found that the F-16’s loss of flight and navigation instruments was prompted by the failure of an embedded GPS inertial navigation system. That system’s failure, along with the unidentified pilot’s reliance on other indicators that showed inaccurate readings, led to “spatial disorientation,” according to the release.
“We found that North Korean people rely much more on the market now today than they do on government handouts. The market has caused them to have a little bit more freedom of thought," says @victordcha.
Fake pills seized from smugglers Customs officials check fake erectile dysfunction medications smuggled from China at the Incheon Regional Customs in Incheon, west of Seoul, on Sept. 26, 2024. (Yonhap)
I kind of assumed the K9 would have had its own domestically produced engine considering Korea’s manufacturing prowess; regardless soon it will have a Korean made engine:
South Korea has produced the first homegrown engine for the country’s K9 self-propelled howitzer after a yearslong development project, the state arms procurement agency said Friday.
The move comes after the country began the 32.16 billion-won (US$24.5 million) project in 2021, involving STX Engine Co., Hanwha Aerospace Co. and others, as part of efforts to reduce reliance on foreign defense parts, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA).
The K9, produced by Hanwha Aerospace, has been powered by a German MTU engine, built by STX Engine under a license.
DAPA said the homegrown engine will be more cost efficient and have improved performance. It is also expected to help efforts to export the K9 as it would not need to undergo extra approval procedures required for components of foreign origin.
South Korea is among a handful of developed countries to have seen its household debt burden INCREASE amid pandemic economic woes and global interest rate hikes https://t.co/PtkTjjMcBUpic.twitter.com/tcNVzFwlhE
Robots in drill against nuclear power accidents Robots are employed in a drill for earthquake and nuclear accident scenarios at Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power’s Saeul Nuclear Power Plant in Ulju, 362 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on Sept. 25, 2024. (Yonhap)
We have China firing ICBMs before the U.S. election and North Korea highlighting its expanding nuclear capabiliites as well. Who is going to be the next bad actor conduct a provocation before the U.S. election?:
South Korea’s spy agency considers North Korea publicizing leader Kim Jong-un’s visit to a previously undeclared uranium enrichment facility earlier this month to be a “US election-conscious move,” Rep. Lee Seong-kweon of the National Assembly intelligence committee said Thursday.
“Kim’s visits to facilities related to North Korea’s nuclear weapons program are rarely ever disclosed this way. The spy agency said the US presidential election was likely the factor behind the decision to publicize this particular visit,” the lawmaker told reporters after a closed-door briefing by the spy agency.
This week China conducted an ICBM test for the first time in 40 years.
China says it carried out a rare test-firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) into international waters, sparking protests from neighbouring countries.
The launch on Wednesday – its first in more than 40 years – was “routine” and not aimed at any country or target, according to Beijing. Chinese media reported the government also gave “relevant countries” notice.
But Japan said it had not received a warning and expressed concerns, along with Australia and New Zealand.
Here is what Australia and New Zealand had to say in response to the ICBM test:
Australia and New Zealand are seeking an explanation from China about its test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile into the Pacific on Wednesday.
Both countries said they were concerned by any action that was destabilizing and raised the risk of miscalculation in the Pacific. New Zealand said Australia would join it in discussing the launch and sharing views with Pacific Island Forum representatives at the United Nations General Assembly this week.
The Chinese military successfully launched the intercontinental ballistic missile, or ICBM, into the Pacific Ocean on Wednesday, its first such test in more than 40 years.
China is claiming this ICBM test is part of a regular training exercise, but clearly firing an ICBM is intended to send a message. That message has to be towards the U.S. because notice the missile flight is roughly the same distance it would take to reach Hawaii and it overflew the vicinity of Guam. Any contingency with Taiwan would involve U.S. forces from Hawaii and Guam and the Chinese is probably reminding both Trump and Harris who are running for president that they can easily reach both U.S. locations with their current missile technology.
Mechanized troops’ overseas drill South Korean mechanized troops salute during their departure ceremony for their first overseas drill at the Navy’s 2nd Fleet Command in Pyeongtaek, 65 kilometers south of Seoul, on Sept. 23, 2024, in this photo provided by the Army. (Yonhap)
