YTN Radio (FM 94.5) [YTN News FM Wise Radio Life]
□ Broadcast date and time: October 14, 2024 (Monday)
□ Host: Announcer Park Gui-bin
□ Cast member: Tae Sang-ho Military Reporter
* The text below may differ from the actual broadcast content, so please check the broadcast for more accurate information.
◆ Announcer Park Gui-bin (hereinafter referred to as Park Gui-bin): North Korea claims that a South Korean drone penetrated over Pyongyang and distributed leaflets to the North. Our military said they can't confirm whether it's true or not. The drone controversy is escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula. However, in the past, North Korea also has a history of provoking South Korea's actual unmanned aerial vehicles. And in recent wars such as the war in Ukraine, drones such as drones are becoming game changers that change the game of war. Let's talk to a military expert about this. Let's call Tae Sang-ho, a military reporter. Hello, reporter.
◇Taesung Military Reporter (hereinafter referred to as Taesung): Yes, hello.
◆Park Gui-bin: Nothing has been revealed yet about the true nature of the drone flying over Pyongyang, North Korea, but if you estimate the drone in the picture released by North Korea, how big does it look?
◇Tae-Ho: First of all, there are so many restrictions on checking accurate information because the photo images released are so low resolution. However, if you look at the shape of the aircraft, it looks like a stingray-type drone with a delta-wing. Then, when we look at the types of Delta-ik drones operated by our military, we operate drones called twin drones or bat drones except for attack types. The drone is similar to the North Korean drone that infiltrated Cheong Wa Dae in 2014. So, if you look at the ADD order of the aircraft, the width of the aircraft is less than about 3M and the length is less than 2m, and the takeoff weight is 17kg. In fact, it is inferred that at this level, it can be large enough to penetrate and operate in Pyongyang. But I personally don't think this drone is a drone that our military penetrated.
◆Park Gui-bin: Why do you think so?
◇Tae-ho: Bat drones are power to be used in case of emergency, but there is no need to put them into the mission of delivering flyers to show their existence. If our military drones were certain, North Korea would have sent evidence to the UNC faster than anyone else, denouncing our aggression and asking for sanctions against violations of the Armistice Agreement, but it has not yet done so. So, in the end, except for our military, the candidate who committed the drone incident could be North Korea itself, an external force, including our civilians.
◆Park Gui-bin: I see. These days, there is even a saying that war cannot be fought without drones. So today, I wanted to talk to you about drones, so I prepared an interview today, and I'm talking about drones flying as they are remotely controlled or pre-programmed without a pilot onboard.
◇Tae-ho: Yes, that's right. Unlike manned aircraft, a drone is not controlled by a person on board, but by controlling it without a person through other mechanical devices. Since it was first put into action in World War II, it has gradually evolved, and in the ongoing war in the United States and the Middle East, it has become recognized as a weapon system that has changed the paradigm of war. Millions of won drones neutralize more than 8 billion tanks, and in a way, it's the most important thing in the military. He's playing an active role in hitting the command. As unmanned aerial vehicles gradually evolved, drones that used to be reconnaissance are now active in attack and electronic warfare missions. The method of unmanned aerial vehicles is also changing from the old propeller method to now installing jet engines or using hydrogen as an energy source.
◆Park Gui-bin: From the beginning, the purpose of development was for military purposes.
◇ Tae-ho: At first, it was developed for military purposes, and then it was used for civilian purposes, and then it came very deep into military use as the war intensified.
◆Park Gui-bin: But as you said earlier than when it was first used for weapons purposes, he said that the level has evolved a lot. So how much has it evolved? So at first, you only did reconnaissance missions, but how much have you come up to now?
◇Tae-ho: I think we can find the answer in a country that is at war for a long time now. According to data from Ukraine's General Staff, the Ukrainian military has claimed to have destroyed more than 25,700 Russian armored vehicles with drones since the war. It is emphasized that this figure is a confirmed figure recorded with definite photos and videos. Not long ago, a weapons system fair called Cardex was held at Gyeryongdae. Major Petro Yachenko, a member of the Ukrainian military's defense ministry, visited Korea to announce the Battle of Changtip Colokium, where he stressed that the 2023 statistics showed that 33 tanks, 37 combat vehicles, 142 command posts, and 52 combatants were destroyed with drones in a week.
◆Park Gui-bin: Some say this is a missile, but it can be converted into a missile at any time.
◇Tae-ho: That's right. One of the characteristics of drones is that they can conduct both reconnaissance and attack missions. So in a way, drones are playing a part like cheap cruise missiles.
◆Park Gui-bin: I see. Hundreds of drones are being used a day in the war in Russia and Ukraine. As you said, the level of attack has also risen to a very high level. First of all, in the case of North Korea, at the end of December 22, there was a provocation of an unmanned aerial vehicle invading our country's airspace. At that time, it was a small unmanned aerial vehicle under 2m. How much power do you know about North Korea's drones?
◇Tae-ho: It's a little difficult to get accurate data because each data is slightly different and it's a very controlled society, but North Korea is increasing its unmanned aerial vehicle power as a national project. We are selecting the best talents and putting them into unmanned aerial vehicle development and operation units. The reason is that the air force is inferior to the ROK-U.S. joint force, so it can be developed quickly at a low cost and put into both gray area tactics and in case of emergency. In addition to the large-scale aircraft, the high-altitude unmanned reconnaissance aircraft type 4 and the attack-type unmanned aerial vehicle type 4 of each other. It is known that it has at least 1,000 small unmanned aerial vehicles, which are low-cost and high-effectiveness. It is now known that cluster attack drones and stealth drones have also begun to be developed. And helping North Korea do this can be an important key to recent military cooperation with Iran and Russia.
◆Park Gui-bin: You said it was a stealth drone, so if it's a stealth drone, you can understand that it's not detected by the enemy.
◇Tae-ho: That's right. Even if it is a drone, it is highly likely to be observed and detected by radar if it becomes larger than a certain size. However, like a manned aircraft, if you apply stealth paint to the surface of the aircraft and design the shape of the aircraft itself to reduce radar reflection, the probability of being detected by radar is significantly reduced than that of a normal aircraft.
◆Park Gui-bin: That's right. We're even developing stealth drones. North Korea said this earlier, North Korea infiltrated South Korean drones over Pyongyang. Isn't there a photo that was released claiming that they distributed leaflets to North Korea? We briefly talked about that, and I think the reporters and listeners have a lot of questions. Questions are coming up. The listener said, "Is it similar to the shape of the drone used in North Korea? According to the reporter's estimate, there is a possibility of a self-portrait, but you came to the sky of North Korean drones in Seoul last time,' he said, and I think they are asking again if it is similar to the shape of a drone used in North Korea.
◇Tae-ho: As I mentioned earlier, the stingray-type drone is similar to the North Korean-run drone that invaded Cheong Wa Dae in 2014. And the drone is not actually developed in North Korea, but a modified aircraft developed in China from North Korea. That's why the exact subject could be North Korea, and as I mentioned earlier, it could also be an external force.
◆Park Gui-bin: Another listener said, 'If so, has the drone civilian technology developed enough to fly from the private sector to Pyongyang? ’ There's also a question like this.
◇Tae-ho: When you say you're flying drones from the border area to Pyongyang, on average, it's 200km one-way. And the return is 200km, so if you were not just going to drop it in Pyongyang, but were going to retrieve it again, you have to fly 400km round trip. To do that, the drone needs to be larger than a certain size. And it should have the capability of a drone that entered our airspace in 2014, but in fact, as civilian hobbyists have become very active and technology has grown recently, such drones can be operated if the private sector decides to and with sufficient funds.
◆Park Gui-bin: Another listener. I think war is a world dominated by technology now. If drones are hacked, wouldn't they be able to do the exact opposite or disable them? ’ Someone asked this question.
◇Tae-ho: Yes, that's right. Security is one of the most important elements of drones, especially those used for military purposes or for special purposes. Because there are many ways to disable drones, and one of them is hacking in software methods. So, as you said, if you are hacked, it can be used for a different purpose than what I sent you, so technologies that prevent or prevent such hacking technologies are also being studied and applied these days.
◆Park Gui-bin: That's right. Then, what is the current level of unmanned aerial vehicles in Korea? It is being developed in various ways, including domestic unmanned aerial vehicles, stealth unmanned aerial vehicles, stingray X.
◇Tae-ho: Our country is also expanding its unmanned aerial vehicle power by developing various unmanned aerial vehicles or purchasing them overseas, but they have not been advanced yet. Most of a country's unmanned aerial vehicle power is generated with the private market. I think we need some national and aggressive investments because our market is being eroded by Chinese-made unmanned aerial vehicle drones.
◆Park Gui-bin: In the case of the stingray X, I think I saw an article that the National Defense Research Institute has completed development. What are the characteristics of this unmanned aerial vehicle?
◇Tae-ho: The R&D of Stingray X began around 2010. It is an unmanned weapon system that is now in the final stage and some say that production can be made as soon as a decision is made. The width is about 14m and the length is about 10m. Complex battles with a weight of about 10 tons and an operation duration of up to 3 hours are possible. It is a stealth aircraft that can perform air-to-air combat as well as partial air-to-ground missions.
◆Park Gui-bin: Compared to North Korea's unmanned aerial vehicle power, who can be seen as the superiority between South Korea and North Korea?
◇Tae-ho: There are many types of drones, so I can't say exactly who has the upper hand in terms of overall power, but it's true that more North Korean drones have been used in the actual battle. Therefore, I can tell you that North Korea is a little ahead of the offensive drones at present, but our military is a little ahead of the reconnaissance surveillance drones.
◆Park Gui-bin: Our military authorities recently announced that they will introduce small Polish self-destruct drones and deploy them to front-line units. Why did you choose this Polish self-destruct drone?
◇Tae-ho: It's a gas called Poland's Warmate. It consists of a 1.3m long and 22kg aircraft, a warhead launcher, a ground control device, and communication equipment. And it can combine various warheads such as high bombs. It is a fuselage with a pneumatic launch pad that bursts and fires compressed air cartridges. The Polish self-destructive drone purchase project began in earnest in June when the Polish Defense Minister officially requested it at the Joint Committee on Defense Defense Defense and Defense Cooperation in Poland. In July, working-level officials from related organizations, including the Ministry of Defense, the drone operation command, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, and the Defense Science Research Institute, visited Poland to check drone resources and production capabilities, and will decide to purchase them at a defense policy meeting on August 7. According to military officials, they continued to deliver to Ukraine and obtained actual records. So, it's a gas that reflects a lot of know-how, and Poland's production line is in operation for a long time now, so I chose it because it can be introduced in Korea right away when signing a contract. In short, there is a lot of actual data, it can be purchased right away, and it was taken care of Poland, the big hand of K-bangsan.
◆Park Gui-bin: Is this the drone that proved its power by striking Russian weapons precisely in the war in Ukraine?
◇Tae-ho: Yes, that's right.
◆Park Gui-bin: The U.S. is probably the number one military force in the world, so how high are U.S. drones now?
◇Tae-ho: The concept is similar to ours. U.S. drones have already been developed and are being electrified. Therefore, we are a little behind in terms of electrification operation. Since the United States has the original aerospace technology and is called a heaven, many predict that it will operate a aircraft that is a little higher than the one we will have because more budget and more excellent manpower are spent than us.
◆Park Gui-bin: The biggest role of drones is to perform missions, so could you give me an example specifically?
◇Tae-ho: Currently, drones perform various tasks such as reconnaissance, attack, and cyber electronic warfare communication control. According to the mission, if you need to stay in the sky for a long time, put in a rotary drone, or a drone with a rotor. Attackers and cyber-electronics need to be a little faster, so you use a first-person FPV method or a fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle. So, most of the missions are dangerous for humans to actually do, and most of the drones are right. With the increasing role of drones, humans are more likely to be rear-ended to a slightly safer area.
◆Park Gui-bin: Yes, drones are likely to play a significant role in power in the future, so how should we prepare and respond?
◇Tae-ho: It's been a long time since drones became part of the weapon system. In the future, the victory or defeat of the war will be decided between countries that use AI-equipped cluster drones and those that do not. That's why we also need a lot of national investment. I think this is a situation that is directly related to national security, not making money by exporting a lot of related private companies.
◆Park Gwi-bin: Yes, I see. This has been Tae Sang-ho's military reporter. Thank you.
◇Tae-ho: Yes, thank you.
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