Via a reader tip from Korean Man comes this news of some pretty cool anti-drone technology being developed by KAIST. Hopefully is works because drones are clearly going to play a major role in future warfare as we are currently getting a preview of in Ukraine:
The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) announced on Tuesday that its researchers had developed a counter-terror anti-drone technology for use in urban areas.
After finding that drone makers’ control function components have different electromagnetic sensitivity, the research team analyzed the sensitivity-maximizing frequency by drone brand.
With this, the research team proved that the use of narrowband electromagnetic pulse waves can instantly neutralize target drones remotely.
Unlike existing anti-drone technologies, the use of electromagnetic pulse waves with a specific frequency in a narrow bandwidth can minimize the impact on nearby electronic devices.
Even when a group of drones using the same control function components attack, this technology can make the drones fall straight to the ground.
In other words, if 100 enemy drones fly together with 100 ally drones, this technology can take down the enemy drones without influencing ally drones.
It is interesting that this conclusion is being leaked to media:
This undated file photo shows a North Korean drone that was found in Inje County, Gangwon Province, in 2017. (Yonhap)
The U.S.-led U.N. Command (UNC) has concluded both South and North Korea violated the armistice by sending drones into each other’s territory last month, an informed source said Wednesday.
The UNC recently reached the conclusion after its special team investigated the North’s Dec. 26 drone infiltrations, which led the South to send its drones into the North in a “corresponding” step.
UNC Commander Gen. Paul LaCamera has been briefed on the investigation outcome, the source told Yonhap News Agency, requesting anonymity.
LaCamera, who also heads the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command and the U.S. Forces Korea, is said to have been pondering whether to disclose the outcome amid concerns that it could risk friction with the Seoul government.
It is surprising that this doesn’t happen more around the THAAD base. The fact someone lost probably around a thousand dollars by losing their drone might deter others from trying this:
Military and police personnel resumed a search Wednesday for a presumed civilian drone thought to have crashed after flying near a U.S. THAAD missile defense unit in a southern county the previous day, officials said.
The authorities are conducting the search in areas close to the base in Seongju, 217 kilometers south of Seoul, while police are investigating who sent the drone and for what purpose.
The Army said chances appear low that the drone was mobilized for espionage.
U.S. Forces Korea personnel are known to have first detected the drone flying toward the base at 12:54 p.m. Tuesday and used a jamming gun to bring it down, according to defense sources.
The DPK doesn’t seem too interested in defending ROK sovereignty:
South Korea’s military conducts an anti-drone exercise in Paju, a city near the inter-Korean border, Jan. 5. Newsis
The military refuted the opposition party’s claim on Monday that South Korean drones sent to North Korea were a violation of the inter-Korean truce, claiming that the South exercised its right of self-defense.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) defended President Yoon Suk Yeol’s eye-for-an-eye response to five North Korean drones that crossed over the inter-Korean border, Dec. 26, in a clear violation of a 2018 military pact signed between the two sides.
“The border incursion by the North Korean drones was a provocative act that apparently violated the Korean Armistice Agreement, the (1991) Inter-Korean Basic Agreement and the (2018) Sept. 19 military agreement,” Lee Sung-jun, a spokesman for the JCS, told reporters. “It was a proportional response and an exercise of the right to self-defense … Article 51 (of Chapter VII) of the United Nations Charter guarantees the right to engage in self-defense, which will be investigated by the United Nations Command (UNC).”
The remarks came a day after the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) criticized Yoon for the retaliatory response it claimed was a violation of the military pact, under which the two sides agreed to cease hostile activities and take steps to build military trust.
The Israeli system would further improve the ROK’s detection capabilities against drone attacks, but does not solve their inability to shoot them down:
file photo dated June 21, 2017, a North Korean drone is displayed at the defense ministry in Seoul after it was discovered in Inje, Gangwon Province, northeastern South Korea. Suspected North Korean drones crossed the inter-Korean border on Dec. 26, 2022, without South Korea’s permission, prompting the deployment of fighter jets, choppers and other assets to shoot them down, an official at the Joint Chiefs of Staff said. (Yonhap)
South Korea’s military is considering the purchase of an Israeli “electric eye” as part of efforts to bolster its capabilities to detect small North Korean drones, a defense source in Seoul said Sunday.
The move comes as the South’s defense authorities have come under fierce criticism for the failure to counter the penetration of five North Korean drones into its airspace late last month. It was belatedly revealed that one of them even intruded into the no-fly zone, called P-73, near the presidential office in the central district of Yongsan.
In order to beef up its airspace defense system, the military is considering pushing for the speedy acquisition of the Sky Spotter system, according to the source.
Built by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, it is designed for the early detection and tracking of such aerial objects, including drones, as well as balloons and kites, that are used for terrorist attacks.
Former President Moon is not happy about the criticism his administration has received from the current President:
This photo, provided by the main opposition Democratic Party, shows former President Moon Jae-in speaking to party leader Lee Jae-myung at his retirement home in Yangsan, South Gyeongsang Province, about 310 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on Jan. 2, 2023.
Former President Moon Jae-in has said his administration established a system to counter North Korean drone infiltrations, according to officials of the main opposition Democratic Party.
Moon made the remarks when DP leaders visited his home in the southeastern city of Yangsan on Monday, apparently in response to criticism from President Yoon Suk Yeol that the North’s recent drone infiltration revealed how Seoul’s military readiness and exercises have been “greatly lacking” over the years.
“Former President Moon said the government had introduced radars and prepared substantially with regard to countering drones,” a DP official who met Moon on Monday told Yonhap News Agency.
You can read more at the link, but I have seen no one criticizing the detection capability. Clearly the ROK military did a good job detecting the drones which Moon’s administration should be given credit for acquiring. However, the inability to shoot them down to include crashing one of their own aircraft is what the criticism of the ROK military has been about.
Considering that small low cost drones is the future of warfare it is amazing that South Korea didn’t invest in this technology years ago when North Korea first began flying drones into their airspace:
This photo provided by the Joint Chiefs of Staff shows the launching pad for the short-range ground-to-air missile Cheonma during drills to strengthen defense against potential North Korean drone-based provocations in areas around Ganap-ri, Yangju, some 30 kilometers northeast of Seoul, on Dec. 29, 2022.
South Korea’s state arms agency said Thursday it will push to speed up the development of a jamming system against small drones after the military’s recent failure to shoot down North Korean drones.
The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said it will look to develop the counter-drone system over a 39-month period starting next year, compared to a 48-month window such a development usually requires.
DAPA also said it has opened bidding for a portable anti-drone jammer, which it plans to purchase and deploy next year.
President Yoon appears to be highly upset that the ROK military has not developed the technology to counter North Korean drones:
President Yoon Suk Yeol berated Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup over the military’s failed operation against five North Korean drones that entered South Korean airspace earlier this week, officials said Wednesday.
Yoon met with Lee on Tuesday morning and was briefed on the military’s response to the North’s violation of South Korean airspace the previous day.
The drones flew across the Military Demarcation Line separating the two Koreas, with one flying over northern parts of Seoul, but the South Korean military failed to shoot them down.
“How can there be none preparing against North Korean drone attacks? There were many similar incidents in the past, so what have you been doing until now?” Yoon said during the meeting, according to one official who relayed the exchange.
The South Korean military apologized for failing to shoot down any of the five North Korean drones that flew on Monday for hours over Incheon, Gyeonggi and parts of Seoul. pic.twitter.com/B72i0YGHcH
Shooting down drones, especially high flying ones with out endangering civilian property is not easy, but it is also not impossible:
This June 2017 file photo shows a North Korean drone found crashed in Inje, Gangwon Province / Yonhap
President Yoon Suk-yeol on Tuesday criticized the military’s response to North Korean drones that intruded across the inter-Korean border the previous day, saying the incident exposed some problems with South Korea’s readiness.
Speaking at a Cabinet meeting, Yoon said the military should be better prepared for such intrusions by North Korean drones and vowed to create a military unit specializing in unmanned aerial vehicles as part of efforts to strengthen South Korea’s air defense capabilities.
“We have a plan to create a military drone unit tasked with monitoring key military facilities in North Korea. But we’ll expedite the process of creating the drone unit after the incident yesterday,” he said. “We’ll also introduce state-of-the art stealth drones to strengthen our surveillance capability.”
Yoon also voiced regret over the National Assembly’s decision to cut the military budget for anti-drone operations, saying the incident once again showed how dangerous it is to rely on North Korea’s “good faith” and paper agreements for peace.
You can read more at the link, but it is amazing that funding for anti-drone operations was cut by the National Assembly. Drones is obviously the future of warfare. Their importance can be seen right now in the war in Ukraine. This incident should give President Yoon all the rationale he needs to pour money into the new drone command he wants to establish.
