U.S. Forces Korea Chief Urges Seoul to Join US BMD
South Korea should participate in a U.S. regional missile defense network to thwart the lingering threat posed by North Korea's missile programs, the top American commander here said .
In an exclusive interview with The Korea Times, Gen. Walter Sharp, commander of the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), said South Korea should develop a multi-layered missile defense system interoperable with the U.S. high-altitude ballistic missile defense (BMD) shield for defense against a possible North Korean missile attack, the top American commander here said Wednesday.
Sharp made the remarks at a time when tension is growing here amid reports that North Korea is preparing to test-fire a long-range missile capable of hitting the United States and has successfully deployed 3,000-kilomter-range short- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles putting neighboring countries, such as Japan, Russia and India within striking distance.
``The ROK does not have a robust missile defense capability in place and this would likely be one of the bridging capabilities the U.S. would provide until the ROK improves this,'' Sharp said in an exclusive interview with The Korea Times this week. ROK is the acronym of South Korea's official name, the Republic of Korea.
In this regard, both the ROK and U.S. would benefit greatly from interoperability and the exchange of data between missile defense systems, said the general, who concurrently serves as chief of the ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command (CFC) and the United Nations Command (UNC). ``We encourage the ROK to develop a layered and robust defense that provides protection at all levels.''
The United States has asked South Korea to participate in the U.S.-led global missile defense network, which Japan has already joined. Since 2004, Washington and Tokyo have been working jointly to develop a regional ballistic missile defense shield against possible attacks from Pyongyang, which fired a missile over Japan in 1998 and conducted a nuclear device test in 2006.
The U.S.-Japan defense system consists of up-to-date sea-to-air SM-3 missiles and PAC-3 interceptors. Previous liberal governments in South Korea opposed the idea of participating in the U.S. BMD effort, citing budget constraints and a possible backlash from North Korea and neighboring countries such as China and Russia.
The atmosphere has changed, however, as the Lee Myung-bak administration, which has put top priority on ties with the United States, is looking to cooperate with the BMD initiative amid the lingering threat posed by North Korea's missile programs, observers say.
South Korea, for its part, is on track to build an independent low-tier theater missile shied intended to engage the North's low-flying, short- and intermediate-range missiles with the help of early warning radars, Aegis-based SM-2 ship-to-air missile systems and modified PAC-2 interceptors.
``The North Korean ballistic missile threat to the ROK and its allies is very real,'' said Sharp. ``They have 800 increasingly sophisticated missiles, and have tested a missile that many think could reach the United States.''
8th Army Transformation
In the interview, Gen. Sharp said the Eighth U.S. Army (EUSA) headquarters in Seoul would be reorganized into an operational command post after 2012, when South Korean commanders take over wartime operational control (OPCON) of its armed forces from the U.S. military.
``Of course, it is no secret that we are in the progress of transforming our headquarters as part of the overall Army Transformation Plan,'' the four-star general noted. ``This transformation includes new equipment to keep us compatible with other U.S. Army units, and a reorganization of the headquarters into an operational command post, making it more capable of commanding and controlling fighting units in the event of hostilities.''
There will be the EUSA headquarters, in some form, maintained in South Korea ``for the foreseeable future, well past the scheduled OPCON transfer,'' he added.
The debate over moving the EUSA headquarters has been controversial since a 2007 agreement on the OPCON transfer because of the army command's symbolic status on the peninsula.
Established in 1944 in Memphis, Tennessee, the EUSA became the spearhead for the United Nations Command (UNC) to halt aggression from North Korea during the 1950-53 Korean War, and ultimately assumed overall responsibility for conducting ground operations on the peninsula under the command of a four-star American general.
But the command's roles and missions have been significantly reduced since the establishment of the CFC, which took charge of wartime operations on the peninsula in 1978. Since then, a three-star general has taken charge of the EUSA.
Apache Relocation
The USFK commander dismissed a possible security vacuum following the planned pullout of an AH-64 Apache helicopter battalion from the peninsula next month. The Apache battalion would not likely return to South Korea, he said.
``The U.S. remains committed to the security of the Republic of Korea. That commitment is unwavering,'' he said. ``The key consideration for the F-16 deployment to Korea was ensuring there was not gap in capability when the Apaches departed.''
Last November, the USFK announced one of the two Apache battalions was being relocated to Fort Carson, Colorado, until March, in order to make the unit available for rotational deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan.
A-10 ``tank killer'' jets were initially considered to replace the departing Apaches but the USFK withdrew the plan due to requirements for inspections and repairs to the A-10 fleet. Last week, 16 F-16s from Japan, instead of A-10s, arrived at an air base in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province.
Sharp said, ``While I would not rule out the possibility that the Apache battalion could return to Korea when it is no longer needed in support of the Global War on Terrorism, there are no plans for that to take place at this time.''
The F-16s can conduct a broad range of missions, including close air support, precision strikes and counter-air strikes, adding significant capability in several areas, he stressed.
The AH-64 Apache Longbow helicopter, armed with AGM-114 Hellfire air-to-surface missiles, AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles and Hydra 70 laser-guided rockets are crucial assets for South's defense, as their main missions are to help prevent North Korean special forces from infiltrating the South by sea and neutralizing North Korean army's armored units crossing of the military demarcation line in case of war.
ASIAN DEFENCE: August 2009
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S. Korean Marines to Join PKO Drills in Mongolia
South Korea will dispatch a platoon of Marines for the first time to a multinational peacekeeping exercise to be held in Mongolia later this month, government officials said. Korea has participated in the annual ``Khan Quest'' exercise since 2006 as an observer by sending working-level officers.
This year's exercise will take place from Aug. 15 to 25 at a training camp, about 40 miles west of the capital Ulan Bator, officials at the Ministry of National Defense said. Since 2001, the general staff of the Mongolian Armed Forces, with the support of the U.S. Pacific Command, has organized the summer peacekeeping exercise.
For the first five years, only Mongolian and U.S. troops participated in the exercise. The joint drills have expanded since then to include many other countries. About 450 troops from some 20 nations, including Germany, India, Bangladesh and Cambodia, are to take part in this year's exercise.
During Khan Quest, instructors, who have experience in peacekeeping operations overseas, lead practical lessons in realistic conditions. Troops also introduce their weapons and military vehicles to each other. Korea has actively participated in peacekeeping operations overseas. Currently, about 350 soldiers are stationed in Lebanon, while a 300-strong naval unit is conducting an anti-piracy mission off the coast of Somalia.
In June, the government announced a plan to establish a 3,000-strong standby peacekeeping unit that can be rapidly deployed to troubled regions.
http://www.defence.pk/forums/newreply.php?do=postreply&t=30493
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S. Korean Air Force Pilots to Wear Custom-Made Gloves
Air Force pilots will wear custom-made flight gloves beginning next year, the service said. A research institute at Konkuk University in Seoul has developed the high-tech leather gloves, which are the first of their kind, it said in a news release.
The gloves will be tailored to precisely fit the hands of each pilot. A ``hand scanner'' will measure the length, width and other characteristics of each pilot's fingers and create a relevant database, the release said.The data will be transferred to manufacturers.
``The new gloves are designed to help resolve the discomfort of pilots operating aircraft worth of tens of billions of won,'' said Lt. Col. Huh Nam-hee, chief of the Air Force's logistics support team. ``The gloves will also help improve pilots' aircraft operational skills to a great extent.''
Currently, only eight different sizes of gloves are available, he said. The Air Force plans to create a database of all of its pilots' hand scans by September, the officer added.
ASIAN DEFENCE: August 2009
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South Korea May Export Self-Propelled Guns to Australia
Chances remain high for Samsung Techwin, teamed with Raytheon of the United States, to win a $450 million deal to provide the Australian army with 155mm self-propelled artillery systems, procurement officials here said. The expectation comes after a consortium led by a German firm, according to an official, failed to participate in final tender negotiations with the Australian government.
Teamed with BAE Systems Australia, the German firm Krauss-Maffei Wegmann was seeking to supply its PZH-2000 guns to the Australian army, which wants to acquire about 18 self-propelled and towed guns. The Samsung-Raytheon team is offering the AS-9 gun, a modified version of the K-9 weapon.
``We're told that the German firm has failed to submit additional documents required by the Australian government,'' an official of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said, asking not to be named. ``We don't think the German firm will drop out of the competition, but it's true that our team has got the upper hand in negotiations.''
A final bidder is expected to be announced as early as September, he said. Earlier, reports said the Germany firm raised problems with intellectual property as well as a requirement for more equitable risk-sharing in its decision not to take part in negotiations. Developed jointly with the state-funded Agency for Defense Development, the K-9 is an indigenous all-welded steel armor construction rated to withstand impact by 14.5-mm armor piercing shells and 152- mm shell fragments.
It carries a 155 mm/52 caliber gun with a maximum firing range of 40 kilometers. State-of-the-art mobility subsystems include a 1,000-horsepower engine and a hydropneumatic suspension unit, a requirement for Korea's rugged mountainous terrain.
ASIAN DEFENCE: August 2009
