Military

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  S. Korea's arms procurement agency discusses cooperation in defense sector with U.S. think tank SEOUL -- South Korea's arms procurement agency has discussed cooperation methods with the United States at a conference held in Washington D.C. At the annual meeting, government and industry officials from both countries brought up the U.S. Defense Department's foreign comparative testing program, which demonstrates various items and technologies of U.S. allies to see if they could be adopted by the U.S. armed forces. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) 2023-03-17
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  ​S. Korea to establish drone operations command headquarters in 2023 SEOUL -- South Korea will establish a drone operations command headquarters that will manage the operation of unmanned aerial vehicles that play the role of compact-sized attack aircraft and reconnaissance airplanes, the Ministry of Defense said. The blueprint for the drone-specialized division was originally revealed in January. The defense ministry's announcement was made about three months after the airspace of Seoul and its northern satellite cities were breached by a handf 2023-03-08
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  Malaysia signs $920 million deal to buy South Korean light jet fighters SEOUL -- The Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), South Korea's sole aircraft maker, has secured a deal worth $920 million (1.2 trillion won) to deliver 18 light fighter jets called "FA-50" to Malaysia starting in 2026. KAI said in a press release February 24 that FA-50 was selected as the preferred bidder by Malaysia's defense ministry among six light fighters that include Russia's MIG-35, Turkey's Hurizet and India's Tejas. Malaysia has become the fourt 2023-02-24
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  S. Korea's first two-seater fighter jet KF-21 succeeds 34-minute maiden flight SEOUL -- The fourth prototype of South Korea's homemade fighter jet KF-21 successfully conducted its flight about seven months after the first prototype made its 33-minute maiden flight in July 2022. The first two-seater fighter jet will be used for various missions such as testing the performance of a computer-controlled array antenna system that determines the survival of fighter jets in a combat situation. According to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), 2023-02-20
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  ​South Korea to invest $1.16 billion in defense industry by 2027 to boost exports SEOUL -- The South Korean government has decided to invest 1.5 trillion won ($1.16 billion) in developing defense technologies under a private-military cooperation project by 2027. On February 14, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Ministry of National Defense announced the Third Basic Plan on Private-Public Technology Development Cooperation to beef up the country's defense industry as one of strategic export growth engines. The ministries have selected 16 2023-02-16
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  S. Korea's homemade fighter jet KF-21 succeeds in supersonic flight for first time SEOUL -- The prototype of South Korea's homemade fighter jet KF-21 succeeded in its first supersonic flight. The maiden supersonic flight proved that the multirole fighter's mechanical structure is stable. The first jet fighter christened "KF-21 Boramae (Young Hawk)" made its 33-minute maiden flight on July 19, 2022, in a closed event on a military runway in the southern city of Sacheon, the home base of Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), the sole aircraft maker in 2023-01-17
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  Defense development agency localizes multi-beamforming AESA antenna technology for first time SEOUL -- South Korea's defense development agency has localized multi-beamforming active electronically scanned array antenna technology for the first time in the country. The antenna array will help aerial vehicles establish a communication link and multiple weapon systems using a single antenna unit. The antenna can dramatically increase the operational area of drones and unmanned aerial vehicles. An active electronically scanned array (AESA) antenna is top-notch equipment th 2022-12-27
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  Hanwha Systems selected for development of joint maritime tactical data link SEOUL -- Hanwha Systems, a key defense contractor affiliated with Hanwha Group, was selected for a military project to develop the Korean version of Link-22, a secure digital radio link used by NATO members as a tactical data link that interconnects tactical data systems and enables the exchange of tactical data among military units. In modern warfare, superior situation awareness is crucial for rapid command decisions and precisely guided munition. The main communicational enabler 2022-12-20
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  S. Korea's homemade air-to-ground missile for helicopters ready for field operation SEOUL -- South Korea completed the development of its first homemade air-to-ground guided missile system for armed helicopters, called "Cheongeom," after it was judged suitable for combat in a field performance test. The localization of air-to-ground guided missiles was linked to the development of a light-armed helicopter aimed at replacing an aging fleet of light helicopters such as MD500s and AH-1S Cobra. Cheongeom, also known as TAipers (Tank Snipers), is equipped 2022-12-19
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  Arms procurement agency partners with LIG Nex1 to develop high-performance counter-battery radar SEOUL -- South Korea's arms procurement agency has partnered with LIG Nex1, a defense contractor, to develop a high-performance counter-battery radar system in an effort to replace outdated radars that are currently in use. A counter-battery radar can detect artillery projectiles fired by one or more guns, rocket launchers mortars, and howitzers. When incoming artillery shots are detected, the counter-battery radar can pinpoint the location of enemy forces that fired them. Norm 2022-12-12
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  S. Korea develops blueprint for space weather prediction system SEOUL -- South Korea had finished the development of the blueprint of a space weather forecast system project that would create a safe and stable operating environment for military recon satellites, communication satellites, and guided weaponry. The space weather forecast system will go online in 2024. While many regard space as an endless empty area except for places where planets are located, the vast zero-gravity area also has its weather conditions affected by situations like 2022-12-09
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  DAPA joins government program to develop low-orbit satellite communication technology for military use SEOUL -- South Korea's arms procurement agency joined a government program to develop low-orbit satellite communication technology and secure orbit and frequencies. The core technology of low-orbit satellite communication will be used in the defense sector, as seen in Russia-Ukraine battlefields where troops relied on low-orbit satellite communication after ground networks were destroyed. The Ministry of Science and ICT said it has signed a business cooperation agreement with th 2022-12-07
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  Korean Air ties up with L3Harris for military program to purchase new AEW&C systems SEOUL -- South Korea's top flag carrier Korean Air tied up with L3Harris Technologies, an American technology company and defense contractor, to participate in a military program to purchase new high-altitute planes for aerial early warning, command and control. L3 Harris promised to reduce price and maintenance costs dramatically and transfer system integration technologies. An airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) system detects aircraft, ships, vehicles, missiles, an 2022-12-06
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  KAI ties up with state research body to develop MUM-T technologies SEOUL -- Korea Aerospace Industries, the sole aircraft maker in South Korea, has tied up with a state research body to develop technologies for the combined use of small armed helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles. A military scheme has been launched to utilize light attack helicopters for manned and unmanned teaming (MUM-T) operations, which are the cooperative employment of unmanned assets with traditional manned platforms. MUM-T operations combine the strengths of each platfor 2022-12-01
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  New landmine detector with export competitiveness ready for field use SEOUL -- South Korea's new homemade landmine detector with price and export competitiveness is ready for field use. The detector capable of finding anti-personnel metal and non-metallic land mines used ground penetrating radar and metal detector composite sensors under a supply contract involving Hanwha Systems, a defense contractor affiliated with Hanwha Group. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), a state arms procurement agency controlled by the defense mini 2022-11-30
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  Hanwha Aerospace demonstrates UGV performance at U.S. military base SEOUL -- Hanwha Aerospace, a defense solution flagship of South Korea's Hanwha Group, demonstrated the performance of its advanced multi-purpose electric unmanned ground vehicle at a U.S. military base, proving the vehicle’s mature robotic and unmanned technologies. Hanwha Aerospace said that the demonstration of its unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) codenamed Arion-SMET was made at the request of the U.S. Army DEVCOM Ground Vehicle Systems Center at a U.S. military base in 2022-11-29
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  S. Korea endorses development of 155 mm guided shells and 130mm rocket system SEOUL -- South Korea approved a military program to spend some 440 billion won ($328 million) on developing the Korean version of Excalibur, a 155 mm extended-range U.S. guided artillery shell, to quickly and accurately hit key enemy targets. The project is aimed at developing 155mm precision-guided shells from 2024 to 2036. Excalibur was co-developed by Raytheon, a U.S. guided missile producer, and BAE Systems Bofor of Sweden, as a longer-range alternative to conventional artillery 2022-11-28
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  $4.29 billion earmarked for production of homemade light-armed helicopters by 2031 SEOUL -- A military program to produce homemade light-armed helicopters developed by Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), the sole aircraft maker in South Korea, got approval with an injection of 5.75 trillion won ($4.29 billion) for nine years by 2031. The program is aimed at replacing an aging fleet of light helicopters such as MD500s and AH-1S Cobra. The green light came at a meeting chaired by Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administr 2022-11-28
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  LIG Nex1 leads military project to develop jammer capable of neutralzing N. Korean drones SEOUL -- LIG Nex1 was selected for a military project to develop a jammer capable of disturbing control signals of North Korean drones and getting them off course or into a crash in a "soft kill" manner when they fly into South Korean airspace across the heavily guarded inter-Korean border. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), an arms procurement agency controlled by the defense ministry, embarked on a project that costs about 24.4 billion won ($18 millio 2022-11-22
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  ​ADD partners with technology finance support institution to help defense technology companies SEOUL -- South Korea's defense technology development agency has partnered with a state-operated credit guarantee finance support institute to help technology companies suffering from heavy interest burdens due to global interest rate hikes. The Korea Technology Finance Corporation (KOTEC) is a finance support institute that evaluates the value of technology owned by an individual person or small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) based on a credit guarantee system. When its eva 2022-11-18