HOME Science & Technology

South Korea’s arms draws interest of other countries

2023.01.30 14:23:00 Doyun Lee
838


[Photo Credit to Pixabay]

South Korea has recently begun expanding its military and technological capabilities to other nations.

Korea has become a major player in the production of cultural content and economic globalization, and its influence is now extending beyond its borders and impacting the defense industry as well. 

With the rapid advancement of their aircraft technology, they no longer require the importation of planes and jets from other nations - it is truly remarkable how much progress they have achieved in this field.

South Korea currently uses the KF-16 model much more than other models, whereas before they were importing used US F-4, F-5 jet planes.

Most other jets and airplanes were also replaced with domestic models.

Aircrafts for military training purposes are also produced domestically, starting from South Korean domestic beginner training propeller airplane KT-100, and a similar but one used for basic training, the KT-1, to the T-50A and the T-50, which is a single-motor jet plane used for upper-levels courses.

Many other aircrafts have also been remodeled and have additional mountings for combat.

The T-50B was remodeled for aerobatic specifications, as well as the KA-1 and the KT-1 being remodeled to be light combat jets.

They armed the TA-50 and the T-50 which is used as a beginner fighting jet, with air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons, as well as radar from Israel.

Light combat jets, the FA-50 and the TA-50, were equipped with RWR (Radar Warning Receiver) and Link16, which is a military tactical link network.

With the improvement of South Korean produced weapons and arms , more countries import these weaponries.

Good examples are the K-2 tanks and the K-9 self-propelled howitzer, which was already popular in exporting military arms.

Other military weapons sales from Poongsan Metal Corporation, one of the leading companies that produces munitions and military arms, include the exporting of ammunition, grenades and mortar shells, with Hanwha exporting railguns, howitzers, and self-propelled artillery shells.

Jets that are produced in South Korea, which have the letter ‘K’ added in their names are now commonly seen in other countries' skies protecting it.

Recent big arms deal was Poland choosing to regain their arms they have supplied Ukraine by doing a arms sale deal of  K-2 tanks and K-9 howitzers, and fighter jets with South Korea.

It was only December 6th of 2022 that the first delivery of Korean arms arrived in Poland after the first signing of the deal in July of 2022.

Poland’s purchase of South Korea's arms is estimated to be around 14 billion US dollars, with ordering 48 FA-50, first light combat aircraft of South Korea.

However, even domestically produced fighter jets rely on American precision-guided munitions for their technical accuracy and power - according to Jun Hyung Hong, a retired captain of the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF).

This highlights the importance of US-Korean relations and how much the two nations have become intertwined in terms of defense technology.

Jun Hyung Hong, former captain of ROKAF (Republic of Korea Air Force), stated that  “The advancement in technology has enabled the Navy and Army to develop weapons systems that are now mostly localized. This has allowed for the production of domestic jets. However, despite these advancements, there is still a need to look for imported components for certain aspects of weaponry such as engines, electronic devices, and air-to-air guided missiles due to technical limitations.”

South Korea’s developments and technological advancements can be described as a great establishment as they were once one of the low GDP countries in 1960 with $1027, but have significantly increased and as of current, has a GDP of $32730 in 2021.


Doyun Lee / Year 11
North London Collegiate School Jeju