South Korea will establish a defense system against unmanned aircraft in major military and government installations, after several North Korean drones entered southern territory in December and caused a chaotic situation.
The Defense Acquisition Program Administration has opened a tender for South Korean companies to design and deploy these systems that will be operated by the Army, Navy and Air Force, a spokesperson for the organization said Thursday to the Yonhap agency.
The deadline to submit bids for the project, which is valued at about KRW 48.5 billion (about $37.2 million), closes on Aug. 8.
The system must be capable of detecting small drones and neutralizing them by interfering with their radio control signal system.
In December, five North Korean drones infiltrated South Korea and one of them even penetrated the no-fly zone around the presidential office in Seoul.
The detection of the aircraft led to the temporary suspension of all landing and takeoff at the two international airports serving Seoul, Gimpo and Incheon, while the military tried to stop them.
Its small size prevented the army from shooting down the drones, whose traces were eventually lost, which is why Seoul has been working ever since to strengthen its defenses in this terrain and also its attack operation with unmanned aircraft.
This same year the army will inaugurate a new operations command to coordinate surveillance missions, reconnaissance and attacks with drones.
Source : La Prensa Latina
