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The Pentagon has informed Congress of its plans to sell four Global Hawk high-altitude spy drones to South Korea. Under the deal Seoul’s surveillance capabilities would be greatly improved, even though the US DoD itself wanted to retire the aircraft.
The US Department of Defense wants to sell four of the Block 30 version of the RQ-4 Global Hawk aircraft to Seoul under the Foreign Military Sales program. It formally notified Congress of the proposed deal, which is estimated to worth $1.2 billion, reports the Pentagon-affiliated Defense Security Cooperation Agency.
The deal would include “associated equipment, parts, training and logistical support”. The military says it would go in line with the transition of intelligence gathering mission from the US-led Combined Forces Command to South Korea’s own troops in 2015. South Korea hosts almost 30,000 American troops, which take on many tasks requiring use of advanced technology.
The RQ-4 Global Hawk is Northrop Grumman’s unmanned reconnaissance aircraft currently operated by the US and Germany. It fills in the same role as Cold War era Lockheed U-2 all-weather intelligence gathering.
Congress may block the deal, but diplomatic sources told the Korean news agency Yonhap that American lawmakers are likely not to oppose the sale.
Previously the US was apparently reluctant to provide Seoul with the advanced spying capabilities of the Global Hawk, the agency says. The drones can survey landscape with its radar and optical sensors through clouds while flying up to 20km high.
The Block 30 model however may not be the best value for the Korean money. The US Air Force announced in January that it wanted to retire its fleet in 2013 and instead buy more advanced Block 40s.
The military said that Block 30 version was more costly to operate that the manned U-2 spy plane, while inferior in terms of sensor capabilities. Retiring the drones would save $2.5 billion over five years, the Pentagon said, which would come in handy in the times of budgetary restraints.
The notion however was blocked by the legislators. Under the final version of this year’s defense authorization bill Block 30 models will remain in operation until at least 2014.
Political analyst Nile Bowie says the pending deal between Washington and Seoul could escalate the conflict with neighboring North Korea – which fiercely guards its territory.
“We have to remember that North Korea has warned many times about its territorial integrity. If South Korean drones penetrate North Korean airspace it could potentially start a huge conflict,” he told RT.
http://www.4thmedia.org/2012/12/27/us-to-sell-1-2bn-in-spy-drones-to-s-korea/
Drones for South Korea
Published: December 29, 2012
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Less than a month after North Korea’s latest missile test, the Obama administration has offered to sell South Korea advanced spy drones so it can keep a closer eye on its northern adversary. The decision raises some concerns, and Congress would be wise to ask a lot of questions before going along, including whether the deal is part of a comprehensive strategy or just a way to penalize North Korea.
The proposed $1.2 billion sale of four Global Hawks made by Northrop Grumman was first requested by South Korea several years ago. The drones, remotely piloted aircraft with enhanced surveillance technology, would expand South Korea’s intelligence-gathering capabilities when it takes over wartime control of its troops from the United States in 2015, as previously agreed. The United States has held wartime command since the Korean War; the Seoul government regained peacetime control of its military in 1994.
South Korea has serious concerns about the North’s nuclear and missile capabilities. But the drones deal would weaken a 34-nation arms agreement called the Missile Technology Control Regime. That agreement was created in 1987 to discourage the export of ballistic missiles and other unmanned systems with a range of at least 300 kilometers, or 186 miles, and a payload of more than half a ton that could include nuclear, chemical or biological weapons. Under the agreement’s guidelines, there is a strong presumption that requests to buy these systems should be denied.
The agreement has already taken one blow this year, when the administration agreed to let South Korea develop longer-range ballistic missiles. Is the proposed deal important enough to make another exception? The burden is on the administration to explain why selling Global Hawks to South Korea does not undermine President Obama’s arms control goals and give cover for Russia, China and others to also sell systems that exceed the guidelines.
While the drones are intended for intelligence gathering, they could be modified to carry a weapon. If the United States proceeds with the sale, it should include a commitment that South Korea will not arm the drones.
North Korea, despite its nuclear weapons program and threatening behavior, is militarily inferior to the South. The two countries have had several violent confrontations in recent years. Equipping South Korea with drones that could reach all of North Korea could increase the risk of inadvertent war during a crisis. To guard against that threat, there would need to be close American-South Korean coordination.
Keeping the pressure on North Korea, including the use of sanctions, is important. But the administration, wedded to an ineffective approach called “strategic patience,” also needs to look for ways to re-engage North Korea. South Korea’s new president-elect, Park Geun-hye, has expressed interest in resuming a dialogue with the North. President Obama should support and follow that example.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/30/opinion/sunday/drones-for-south-korea.html?_r=0