the face of future warfare is beginning to change as JS become increasingly more autonomous and able to carry out a variety of functions all Tung men as jours become increasingly more autonomous and able to carry out a variety of different functions they're beginning to change the face of future warfare South Korea a country that once relied solely on American Military Support has now become one of the world's largest defense Industries South Korea is currently the world's 10th largest exporter of FS but is aiming to become the fourth by 2027 particularly after the Millennium South Korea
has been at the Forefront of engineering Innovation and cuttingedge development shaped by the threat of North Korea and the indirect support of China Soul's defense industry has risen to Ninth Place in global arms exports in recent years now South Korea has unveiled an unprecedented new weapon South Korea's new lowest weapon has become the center of the asia-pacific agenda this weapon offers a revolutionary breakthrough in air power and has the potential to reshape the military balance in the region but is this high-tech weapon effective enough to override pyongyang's traditional military Trump cards we will now examine
in detail the implications of this strategic move for both the regional balance of power and Kim Jong yun's military plans first let's take a brief look at how South Korea has become a a major player in the global defense Market in recent years South Korea has been exporting heavy duty military arms and vehicles including fighter jets submarines and destroyers we will then look in detail at what the unprecedented New South Korean weapon means for allies and Rivals and for adversaries this growth in Souls industry has been largely attributed to South Korea's rapid production capabilities successful
marketing strategies and highquality affordable weapons of course the development of Soul's military industry was also triggered by North Korea's aggressive behavior and China's secretive partnership since the Chinese Wing supports both North Korea and Russia behind closed doors this risk has pushed South Korea into military industrial production even the United States side has confirmed that Soul has made incredible progress in this regard Greg olmer president of Lockheed Martin's $25 billion Aeros space division while assessing the changing statuses admitted that South Korea's defense industry has now reached a level where it can technically propose a new approach
to Lockheed Martin Lockheed Martin the world's largest defense company produces the United States Air Force's main fighter jets including the F-22 Raptor the F-35 stealth fighter jet and the egis combat system it has also been a long-standing partner of the South Korean defense industry which has grown from being dependent on arms Imports to becoming the ninth largest arms exporter in the world from the time South Korea began assembling Blackhawk helicopters and F-16 fighter jets in the 1990s to the current joint development and export of the t50 supersonic trainer Lockheed Martin has been involved in every
stage of the K defense industry's growth over the last 40 years the fact that such a huge corporation praises South Korea's military industry May of course be sending messages to certain parties one of these parties as we all know is North Korea the pongyang regime which is perceived as the biggest threat to Soul aims to put pressure on South Korea with garbage balloons drones and many other methods but the South Korean side has taken incredible steps to protect its airspace most recently with drones now we will discuss this step that will shake even the pong
G regime we will explore how South Korea's new drone could affect the general course of events in the Asia Pacific we will also evaluate North Korea's possible moves and policy on this issue but first of all please do not forget to subscribe to our Channel turn on notifications and like us so that you can be informed about our content let's get started South Korea has unveiled the low observable unmanned wingman system or Lois a new stealthy unmanned aerial vehicle it plans to operate alongside its locally developed KF 21 bormi Next Generation fighter jet Lois was
part of a growing Fleet of low observable unmanned aerial Vehicles being developed in South Korea as the country seeks to introduce new cruess technologies for a range of missions the first prototype of Lois was seen at Korean airs busen Technology Center in the southeast of the country the manned aerial vehicle which saw the light of day for the first time was jointly developed by Korean Air and the defense technology research and development agency this is a government agency responsible for research and development in defense technology funded by the defense acquisition program Administration the Lois program
was launched in 2021 with a research and development phase the First Flight of the first prototype is reportedly scheduled for the end of this year and will progress towards the first manned unmanned team flight tests by 2027 these will involve a piloted aircraft directly controlling the Drone in Flight the new drone is being developed for manned unmanned teamwork from the outset which will allow it to operate significantly autonomously alongside crude fighter jets as mentioned the Drone is expected to undertake missions such as reconnaissance electronic warfare and strike in support of crude Fighters including the KF
21 in terms of design Lois has stealth features such as a reduced radar crosssection and a structure using radar absorbing material superficially the Drone is very similar to The xq58a Valkyrie a stealthy affordable cruess aircraft developed by United States drone manufacturer cratos Lois also has some visual similarities to the air power teaming system loyalist wingman drone now known as the mq2 ghost bat originally developed by Boeing's Australian subaryanto after the Drone was revealed the missing pieces fell into place one of the most curious details was the wings of this drone the lowest features a stealthy
trapezoidal fuselage sharply swept main Wings a v-shaped tail and an air intake located above the fuselage unlike the United States drone the South Korean Loos has an electrooptical sensor in a turret under the nose while the power unit of the Lois is not immediately clear a locally produced engine has been reported and the video released so far does not reveal details of the internal weapons Bay there are also suggestions that the Drone could be equipped with a locally developed active electronically scanned array radar in October 2021 it was announced that Korea Aerospace Industries which leads
the KF 21 program had won a 3.4 million contract from dapia to rapidly develop such technology however it was not immediately clear whether this was related to the lowest program or a separate effort the Korea Aerospace Industries in initiative was apparently intended at least initially to allow drones to support joint operations involving South Korean Battlefield helicopters such as the Syrian and light attack helicopter we have previously envisioned that these same Technologies could then be adapted for future integration of the kf2 and drones and this may be what is happening now it would make a lot
of sense for the KF 21 to have a stealth drone as its wingman especially given that the first version of The Fighter lacked the highlevel stealth capabilities of for example the F35 which is also used by the RF the KF 21 at least in its initial form will carry all its disposable weapons externally and not an internal weapons Baye furthermore the KF 21 will initially only be fielded in the air to AIR block one variant making a drone capable of carrying air to ground Munitions such as Lois much more useful as an adjunct to a
crude fighter this will allow the Drone to track ground targets detected by the KF 21 for example the KF 21 will only gain airr capability with the next block 2 version more generally a stealthy drone carrying internal weapons would provide an enormous advantage over the KF 21 block one or block two when entering intensely contested airspace this would allow the Mann fighter to stay at a safer distance and select air targets using its highly capable meteor missiles ASA radar and infrared search and tracking this could be done by targeting data from the uav's own sensors
perhaps without the need to use the KF 21's onboard radar this concept is becoming increasingly attractive as it could increase the survivability of Mann Fighters by making them largely electromagnetically silent while the Drone would take on a higher risk role as a for W sensing platform South Korea is developing the kf2 to replace the Republic of Korea Air Forces now retired F4 e Phantom 2 and still active F5 e f tiger 2 Fighters currently the RF is scheduled to introduce 40 KF 21s by 2028 and have a full Fleet of 120 aircraft by 2032 for
the manned unmanned crew component of KF 21 operations the r CF is likely to exclusively use the two- seat variant with arrangements for an additional crew member this would make it ideal for the wingman drone control Mission reflecting the same approach taken by China here a two- seat J 20 stealth fighter jet has been developed apparently designed for this mission on the other hand Lois could also find practical applications beyond the kf50 including in support of the fa50 light fighter giving these relatively cheap Fighters a much higher degree of survivability although based on an advanced
jet trainer the fa50 is a powerful combat platform in its own right with a multimode radar and precision guided weapons including the AGM 65 Maverick air to ground missile and the GBU 38b joint direct attack munition or jdam it also features twin seats making it suitable for the role of a drone controller the fa50 has already achieved export success and the option of being available with a complimentary loyalist wingman drone could make it even more attractive provided Soul makes these Technologies available for sale to foreign customers even without the fa50 or kf2 Lois could be
a compelling export Prospect South Korea is becoming an increasingly important player in the global arms market and a loyal wingman that can be integrated with a range of other combat aircraft would be a unique selling point as for Soul's stealth drone programs we know of efforts previously focused on tailless flying wing designs Korean Air has been working on a stealth ucav under the K usfc program for several years a subscale demonstrator the cow X began flight tests in 2015 this demonstrator is reportedly used to test low observability aerodynamic control and stability and propulsion Concepts in
September 2021 add announced that it had mastered critical technologies that would allow the production of full-size stealth use haves as a result of a project launched in 2016 in particular the agency pointed to the development of aerial structures including RAM and flight control algorithms which will help reduce the radar crosssection of a drone add also announced the incorporation of these features into a tailless drone reports suggest that this effort is separate but complimentary to the K usfc program meanwhile in September 2023 another much smaller stealth shaped flying wing drone appeared at a military parade in
Soul five of these uncrewed drones were included in the parade each mounted on top of a four times four light utility vehicle but the drones three- wheed landing gear suggests they are intended to take off and land from conventional runways despite an overall similar layout to the KY X the new drones feature a cranked kitewing configuration similar to that seen on The X 47b overall drones are an area of considerable interest for the South Korean military which announced in September 2023 that it would establish a dedicated drone Operations Command the South Korean Joint Chiefs of
Staff explained at the time that the command would use unmanned assets mainly to conduct defensive and offensive operations and deter various asymmetric threats posed by the enemy including drones nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction during an emergency it was also reported that it was tasked with conducting surveillance reconnaissance and strike operations at the Strategic and operational level as well as psychological warfare and electromagnetic Warfare as we have seen the South Korean side has recently made critical progress especially in the field of unmanned aerial vehicles and autonomous all resources North Korea's stance is hardening
day by day against these Innovation steps from Soul Kim jong-un's policies towards South Korea have become more confrontational following the year-end party Plum meeting Kim has since abandoned the country's decades long pursuit of peaceful unification with South Korea declared the South to be North Korea's main enemy and demolished the Korean unification Monument on the outskirts of Pyongyang these actions reflected the emergence of an escalating dynamic between the two koreas following North Korea's successful satellite launch last November and a shift in the mindset of the North Korean leadership internally Kim may have concluded that any South
Korean influence in the North had become such a significant threat to regime Integrity that pongyang had to take action to contain the regime's co9 pandemic pongyang has cut off all potential channels for Soul's influence especially following the regime's campaign to demonize foreign influence and reject foreign aid during the covid-19 pandemic moreover Kim Jong-un sought to take advantage of rising great power rivalry the renewed strategic and Military relationship between North Korea and Russia and the paralysis of the United Nations security Council in limiting the possibility of international retaliation for North Korean missile tests Mr Kim is
likely to become more militant and aggressive especially to the extent that he perceives more room to maneuver while continuing provocations against South Korea with relative impunity Mr Kim's long-standing strategic goal remains the removal of United States forces from the Korean Peninsula and the unification of the peninsula under North Korean leadership so how has South Korea responded to to the North's recent actions and rhetoric in an effort to deter North Korea from further provocations South Korea has responded primarily with retaliatory responses and statements of resolve that have increased the perceived cost of military escalation for the
North in recent months South Korea responded to North Korean artillery fire from the northern demarcation Line near yamang island with artillery fire of its own and both sides signaled their withdrawal from the 2018 comprehensive military agreement South Korean president Yun suuk Yol warned of the consequences of North Korea's continued military tests and regularly condemned North Korea's missile launches and expanding cooperation with Russia on January 31 president Yun expressed concern that North Korea could carry out a series of unusual provocations and possible attacks against the South which could be timed to interfere with Soul's April 10
National Assembly elections yun's statements warn the north of the consequences of direct confrontation and emphasized that such actions only serve to increase North Korea's International isolation but despite these warnings what is the status of North Korea's development of its most advanced military weapons including ballistic missiles and nuclear warheads North Korea has systematically continued testing and expanded the deployment mment of its nuclear and missile programs as outlined in the 5-year plan adopted at the eighth party Congress in January 2021 North Korea's stockpiles of fle material have steadily expanded through the operation of uranium enrichment and plutonium
based reactors at the Yong beond nuclear scientific research center the country's largest nuclear facility current estimates suggest that North Korea has enough fle material to Dey Dey approximately 50 to 70 nuclear weapons moreover the range and accuracy of North Korea's nuclear delivery capabilities have improved and its inventory has expanded to include both tactical and strategic nuclear weapons and Delivery Systems North Korea has also codified its nuclear status and stated that it would consider nuclear use as a preemptive response to any perceived threat to the Kim regime North Korea's alarming progress includes the testing of smaller
and lighter and larger nuclear weapons for use on the battlefield and the development of solid fuel engine driven InterContinental underwater and land-based Ballistic Rockets it also includes improving long- range missiles with 15,000 km range and pinpoint accuracy developing Hypersonic missiles deploying and operating a military reconnaissance satellite and developing a submarine launched ballistic missile capability the primary remaining task involves further testing and deployment of a submarine capable of launching long range nuclear missiles in addition speculation continues as to whether North Korea is planning a seventh nuclear test in the near future so what is the status
of international sanctions against Pyongyang almost a dozen United Nations security Council resolutions on North Korea's nuclear and missile development are on the agenda however primarily due to opposition from China and Russia it has been impossible to reach a consensus among Security Council Members on new penalties for North Korea's violations of existing resolutions the two countries which have long-standing ties with North Korea have argued since 2020 that the existing sanctions have outlived their purpose arguing that they have failed to implement or even actively violated existing resolutions in managing their own trade relations with North Korea moreover
the United Nations panel of experts tasked with monitoring the implementation of existing resolutions has increasingly seen paralysis in its ability to explore and recommend additional enforcement actions as a result the United States has placed greater emphasis on enforcing its own unilateral sanctions for North Korean provocations and worked more closely with like-minded Partners including Japan and South Korea to coordinate sanctions policies against North Korea likewise South Korea like the United States needs to engage in more efforts to restrict North Korea develop its military industry and focus in particular on the development of autonomous and other technological
resources Soul's latest unmanned aerial vehicle could be a step in this direction it would not be surprising to see more Innovations from South Korea in this area in in the future this is the only way to neutralize the North Korean threat in the Asia Pacific thank you for watching
