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South Korea testing new counter-drone surveillance system for military

South Korea’s military is developing new defenses against enemy drones, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration said Tuesday. File Photo by Thomas Maresca/UPI
South Korea’s military is developing new defenses against enemy drones, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration said Tuesday. File Photo by Thomas Maresca/UPI | License Photo

June 22 (UPI) -- South Korea's military began to test a new drone detection radar capable of identifying enemy vehicles within 5 miles and disabled them with jammers.

Seoul's Defense Acquisition Program Administration said the counter-drone surveillance system is being deployed with South Korea's Army, Navy and Air Force, Newsis reported Tuesday.

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The pilot program will be in effect for six months, according to local authorities.

The system can detect drones as small as the size of baseball, Yonhap reported.

The equipment also was tested and showed a capability to detect drones that measure 12 inches wide within 5 miles, the military said.

South Korea's Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology developed the system in collaboration with a local startup, according to reports.

"Drone detection radar technology was first developed and commercialized abroad," the Defense Acquisition Program Administration said, according to Newsis. "It is known that radar has the technology to detect ultra-small drones at a distance of 4.3 miles in [other] countries."

The arms procurement agency also said that Korea could be expected to become a global leader in the counter-drone surveillance sector for small drones.

Kim Il-dong, a senior official with defense program, told the news service that anti-aircraft defense capabilities are expected to "further strengthen" major military facilities in the South.

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In 2017 a drone identified as North Korean flew more than 160 miles south of the border to capture images of the U.S. THAAD battery in Seongju.

The drone crash-landed in a remote mountain area that year. The South's military said the drone had taken more than 10 photographs of the THAAD site.

South Korea's defense ministry analyzed the drone and concluded North Korea built the vehicle using products manufactured in six countries. A Japanese camera, a digital Sony A7R, was mounted on the drone, Seoul said at the time.

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