South Korea is to deploy laser weapons to shoot down North Korean drones this year, becoming the world’s first country to deploy and operate such weapons in the military, the country’s arms procurement agency said yesterday.
South Korea has called its laser program the “StarWars project.”
The drone-zapping laser weapons that the South Korean military has developed with Hanwha Aerospace are effective and cheap, with each shot costing 2,000 won (US$1.45), and also quiet and “invisible,” the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said in a statement.
Photo: AFP
“Our country is becoming the first country in the world to deploy and operate laser weapons, and our military’s response capabilities on North Korea’s drone provocation will be further strengthened,” DAPA said, calling the weapons a game changer for battlefields.
The laser weapons shoot down flying drones by burning engines or other electric equipment with beams of light for 10 to 20 seconds, a DAPA spokesperson said at a briefing.
Five North Korean drones crossed into South Korea, which is technically still at war with Pyongyang, in December last year, prompting Seoul to scramble fighter jets and attack helicopters, which tried to shoot them down, in the first such intrusion since 2017.
Fighting in the 1950-1953 Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty, and a demilitarized zone between the two Koreas.
Countries including South Korea, China and the UK are racing to develop and deploy laser weapons, also known as directed-energy weapons, the Santa Monica, California-based RAND Corp think tank said.
There is substantial interest in the weapons to help counter the proliferation of uncrewed systems, as well as targeting missiles in flight or satellites in orbit, it said.
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