The South Korean army has announced that it is considering a plan to lease satellites to increase surveillance of North Korea and increase the pre-emptive strike capabilities of the “three-tier” defense system.
And South Korea’s Yonhap news agency quoted a military official as saying the army is considering leasing mini-satellites from a European civil space agency for mini-satellites equipped with Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) technology in wartime.
Synthetic aperture radar provides accurate results by taking all the radar pictures of the target as it passes over it and processing them into a single image because the satellites are moving very fast, usually in low orbit.
The orbiting radars of the Synthetic Aperture Radar satellite illuminate the surface using wavelengths hundreds of thousands of times longer than visible light. These wavelengths easily penetrate clouds, fog and smog.
The operation of mini-satellites equipped with synthetic aperture radar means that the military will be able to track the movement of North Korean mobile launchers (TEL), the movement of personnel and materials around nuclear facilities, signs of liquid fuel injection into ballistic missiles, and so on. in real time, even in bad weather.
The official said the Army’s test of lease of synthetic aperture radar satellites is intended to reinforce the concept of a “chain of kill” pre-emptive strike against North Korea in an emergency.
He added: “Early detection of signs of North Korean provocations is necessary for launching a preemptive strike, and for this purpose it is necessary to strengthen intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities.”
The South Korean military relies heavily on reconnaissance satellites operated by the United States as it does not have its own reconnaissance satellite.
South Korea has been implementing “Project 425” aimed at deploying 5 reconnaissance satellites since 2018 as part of efforts to expand the capabilities of the “chain of destruction” and plans to launch the first reconnaissance satellite within this year, but experts believe that the deployment of mini reconnaissance satellites will take a long time.
Source: “Yonhap”
