Tag: Global Hawk

If North Korea quit making threats and provocations there wouldn’t be a need to conduct aerial surveillance of their country:

North Korea on Saturday accused South Korea and the United States of heightening tensions on the Korean Peninsula with aerial reconnaissance activities.

In a commentary carried by the Korean Central News Agency, the North said that Seoul and Washington have been stepping up their “spying activities” this month, calling such a move a “stern provocation” against the country.

The North claimed the countries attempted to secure information on the North’s inner regions by conducting surveillance activities with the U.S. RC-135 Combat Sent and RC-135W Rivet Joint and South Korea’s advanced high-altitude unmanned aircraft Global Hawk and E-737 Peace Eye early warning aircraft.

The North said it is closely monitoring such military activities and threatened that it is ready to destroy its enemies anytime.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Here is the latest on South Korea’s acquisition of the Global Hawk surveillance aircraft:

Two more units of the Global Hawk high-altitude unmanned aircraft are expected to arrive in South Korea this month, sources said Thursday, a move expected to further boost the country’s surveillance capabilities against North Korea and beyond.

Their planned arrival comes after South Korea brought in its first RQ-4 Block 30 Global Hawk remotely piloted aircraft in December last year. Under a 2011 deal, Seoul purchased four from the United States.

Air Force officers and the manufacturer, Northrop Grumman, have been working to bring in two additional units within this month, though the exact schedule is subject to change, according to the government sources. One remaining unit is also expected within the first half, they added.

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link, but this sale has been in the works since 2003 because of the delays caused by concerns that technology and information would be leaked to North Korea.  Now with the US wanting the ROK to take on more of their defense responsibilities the sale was approved and hopefully whatever concerns of technology leaks has been mitigated as well.

You have to be a Korea watcher for many years to understand the significance of this delivery:

South Korea on Monday took delivery of its first Global Hawk unmanned aircraft, vastly expanding the range of its aerial surveillance to include the entirety of the Korean Peninsula and beyond.

The high-altitude RQ-4 Block 30 Global Hawk drone, built by U.S. defense manufacturer Northrop Grumman, arrived at an Air Force base in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang, at around 5 a.m. – the first of four such aircraft Seoul acquired in an approximately $1.2-billion deal.

Seoul’s earliest attempt to acquire the drone from the United States took place in 2003 – when North Korea was in the early stages of its nuclear development program – and it was only in 2014 that the acquisition was finally approved by Washington. While the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was expected to be delivered by early 2018, the United States delayed the transfer owing to cybersecurity issues. Then errors with the drones’ radar and electro-optical or infrared sensors caused further delays this year.

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link, but this sale has been in the works since 2003 because of the delays caused by concerns that technology and information would be leaked to North Korea.  Now with the US wanting the ROK to take on more of their defense responsibilities the sale was approved and hopefully whatever concerns of technology leaks has been mitigated as well.

This has been a long time coming, but the

The U.S. government has approved the sale of four RQ-4 Global Hawk surveillance drones to South Korea.

The foreign military sale is included in a list of contracts announced on the Defense Department’s website Monday.

Northrop Grumman Systems Corp.“has been awarded a $657,400,000 hybrid contract … for aircraft for the Republic of Korea,” the announcement stated.

The contract includes four RQ-4B Block 30 Global Hawk aircraft, two spare engines and ground control equipment. The first Global Hawk is to be delivered in 2018, the San Diego, Calif.-based company said in a statement. Each aircraft will contain an “Enhanced Integrated Sensor Suite,” the DOD announcement said.  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read more at the link, but this sale has been in the works for many years because of the delays caused by concerns that technology and information would be leaked to North Korea.  Now with the US wanting the ROK to take on more of their defense responsibilities enough confidence in the South Koreans to protect this technology must have been built up to approve this sale.

Two year ago the South Korean government tried to puchase the Global Hawks and was denied.  I guess if you fail once try, try again:

South Korea said Wednesday it is still seeking to buy unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) from the United States despite Washington’s previous refusal to sell it the high-altitude spy plane. The defence ministry plans to acquire four Global Hawk UAVs by 2012, a spokesman told AFP. The 45-million-dollar craft can cruise at an altitude of 19,500 metres (more than 64,000 feet) for up to 42 hours and identify 30-centimetre (12-inch) objects on the ground.

South Korea is seeking the planes partly so it can keep a better watch over North Korea, as it takes over greater responsibility for its defence from its ally the United States.

But its request for the Global Hawks was rejected in 2005. The US says that the Missile Technology Control Regime, which covers the unmanned plane, should be revised first.

So why was the Global Hawks denied to South Korea two years ago you may ask?  Unsurprisingly, this is why:

The U.S. is thought to have rejected the request for fear that the core technology might be leaked. Some are known to be worried that confidential information collected on North Korea using the Global Hawk might be leaked to the North.

It is pretty much no secret in the military community that anything given or sold to South Korea ends up being leaked to the North and nothing in the last two years has changed this fact.  If anything trust between the US and Korea has decreased even more.

Look at who the US did sell the Global Hawk too:

The Defense Acquisition Program Administration said, While continuously requesting the U.S to sell us the Global Hawk, we are also developing a domestic mid-altitude UAV system. However, the mid-altitude UAV system development will be possibly completed around 2015. On the other hand, Japan received consent to buy the Global Hawk last June, and it has already secured budgets and commenced preparations to introduce the Global Hawk into its system.

This is probably the main reason why South Korea wants the Global Hawk, simply because Japan has them.

Just another indication of how far the rift in the US-ROK alliance is growing:

According to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, military authorities requested the U.S. to sell it four Global Hawks in 2008 at last year’s SCC in Hawaii in order to secure independent surveillance ability on North Korea. Korea requested this several times. However, last June, the U.S. put out a not for sale policy and have rejected Korea’s requests.

So why would the US deny this system to our “blood allies” the South Koreans?  You shouldn’t have to think to hard:

The U.S. is thought to have rejected the request for fear that the core technology might be leaked. Some are known to be worried that confidential information collected on North Korea using the Global Hawk might be leaked to the North.

But look who the US is selling the system to:

The U.S. refusal to sell the Global Hawk has set back the South Korean’s military’s plan to introduce a high altitude UAV system until after 2010, and if the U.S. continually refuses, the whole system could fall apart.

The Defense Acquisition Program Administration said, While continuously requesting the U.S to sell us the Global Hawk, we are also developing a domestic mid-altitude UAV system. However, the mid-altitude UAV system development will be possibly completed around 2015. On the other hand, Japan received consent to buy the Global Hawk last June, and it has already secured budgets and commenced preparations to introduce the Global Hawk into its system.

You can read more at the link.