ID :
32272
Tue, 11/25/2008 - 17:28
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/32272
The shortlink copeid
S. Korea, U.S. jointly developing new air warning system By Byun Duk-kun
SEOUL, Nov. 25 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and the United States are jointly developing a new airborne early warning system that can help locate heavy mortar and artillery and assist in counter-attack missions, informed sources said Tuesday.
The new aircraft, called the Airborne Warning Surveillance System (AWSS), will be
an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that carries a sensor package "completely
different from any other that exists," one of the sources said.
"The UAV itself is a Korean UAV and the United States is bringing the sensor
package, which is designed to look for specific types of mortar or artillery,"
the source told Yonhap News Agency, asking not to be identified due to the
sensitivity of the issue.
The countries signed an agreement on Oct. 24 for the joint research and
development project, according to the source. With its ability to look for
specific targets, the new aircraft can also be deployed for actual combat
missions.
"The main purpose of the AWSS is to aid in counter-attack missions," the source
said.
South Korea technically remains at war with North Korea as the 1950-53 Korean War
ended in a ceasefire without a formal peace treaty. The North has more than 70
percent of its troops deployed forward along the demilitarized zone that divides
the two countries.
Both South Korean and U.S. forces stationed here maintain aerial surveillance
capabilities, but they are said to only provide low-resolution, area-specific
images of the communist nation.
"At the end of all this, we are hoping to have a product that can be used for the
defense of South Korea, but one that can also be used by the United States,"
another source said of the joint development project.
Washington currently maintains some 28,500 troops here as a legacy of the Korean
War.
South Korea earlier sought to buy the United States' high-altitude, unmanned
surveillance aircraft Global Hawk, but the plan has nearly been scrapped off due
to Seoul's budget cutbacks.
bdk@yna.co.kr
(END)
The new aircraft, called the Airborne Warning Surveillance System (AWSS), will be
an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that carries a sensor package "completely
different from any other that exists," one of the sources said.
"The UAV itself is a Korean UAV and the United States is bringing the sensor
package, which is designed to look for specific types of mortar or artillery,"
the source told Yonhap News Agency, asking not to be identified due to the
sensitivity of the issue.
The countries signed an agreement on Oct. 24 for the joint research and
development project, according to the source. With its ability to look for
specific targets, the new aircraft can also be deployed for actual combat
missions.
"The main purpose of the AWSS is to aid in counter-attack missions," the source
said.
South Korea technically remains at war with North Korea as the 1950-53 Korean War
ended in a ceasefire without a formal peace treaty. The North has more than 70
percent of its troops deployed forward along the demilitarized zone that divides
the two countries.
Both South Korean and U.S. forces stationed here maintain aerial surveillance
capabilities, but they are said to only provide low-resolution, area-specific
images of the communist nation.
"At the end of all this, we are hoping to have a product that can be used for the
defense of South Korea, but one that can also be used by the United States,"
another source said of the joint development project.
Washington currently maintains some 28,500 troops here as a legacy of the Korean
War.
South Korea earlier sought to buy the United States' high-altitude, unmanned
surveillance aircraft Global Hawk, but the plan has nearly been scrapped off due
to Seoul's budget cutbacks.
bdk@yna.co.kr
(END)
