The KUH-1E, an export variant of the troop-carrying Surion helicopter, was unveiled at the Seoul International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition, or ADEX, which is taking place Oct. 15-20.

“The KUH-1E has been in development for four years to meet the requirements of foreign customer nations,” Kim Ji-hyung, spokesman for KAI, told Defense News. “Not every country [can] afford both utility helicopters and attack helicopters. For those customers, the KUH-1E is expected to be an optimal solution.”

The South Korean company did not reveal specific target customers, but indicated the armed helicopter would be able to compete in the markets of Southeast Asia, South America and Africa.

Industry sources point to Indonesia as one of the KUH-1E targets, as the Southeast Asian nation has a requirement for 100 medium-lift helicopters and is a key arms trade partner of South Korea.

The KUH-1E mock-up on display features a weapons mount equipped with rockets, missiles and a gun pod. Stub wings mounted forward of the door can carry either Hellfire or Spike anti-tank missiles; pods for domestically built 2.75-inch rockets; and infrared-homing air-to-air missiles.

The attack version is also fitted with the Garmin G3000, a large touch-screen, glass-integrated avionics system. It can also be equipped with TACS II, the newest version of traffic collision avoidance systems. The helicopter’s nose features a three-dimensional weather radar, according to KAI. The helicopter has a maximum takeoff weight of 8,709 kilograms.

Last year, the Philippines showed interest in buying a score of Surion helicopters as an alternative to a botched deal to procure 16 Bell EPI helicopters from Canada. But the government canceled its plan to purchase the South Korean helicopter, jointly built by Airbus Helicopters, after the fatal crash of an MUH-1, the marine variant of the Surion. Instead, the Philippines ordered Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters.

“The competition for the Philippines Army was affected by the crash of an MUH-1, not because of the rotorcraft’s performances,” said a KAI source involved in the Surion export project, speaking on condition of anonymity. “As the reported defects and problems have been cleared, the Surion still has competitiveness in terms of price and performances.”

Amphibious pitch

KAI also displayed at ADEX a concept for a marine attack helicopter to compete against the Bell AH-1Z Viper for a deal with the South Korean Marine Corps, which wants to buy 24 attack helicopters for amphibious assault operations.

Powered by a twin turbo-shaft engine with 1,800-plus horsepower, the marine attack version is to be armed with Lockheed Martin’s AGM-114 Hellfire air-to-surface missile; the Mistral ATAM air-to-air missile developed by MBDA; 2.75-inch non-guided/guided rockets; and the 20mm turret gun, according to KAI.

South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration issued a request for information early last year, but the agency hasn’t decided whether the helicopters will be purchased through a competition open to foreign offerings or only to locally developed bids.

Boeing is also vying for a contract with its AH-64 Apache model.

“The concept of the Marine Attack Helicopter on display showcases KAI will be able to meet the Marine Corps requirements,” said Kim, KAI’s spokesman. The company is conducting feasibility studies into Surion’s attack concepts.

Javier Ball, the international campaign manager for Asia at Bell, is confident the AH-1Z’s inherent shipborne operational capability will serve the Marine Corps well.

“Anybody can land on a ship, but leaving on a ship is where we think marinization comes into effect. That starts with the design of this aircraft,” Ball said in an interview with Defense News. “Aircraft designed to be operated on land can land on a ship, but they lose some capability when they try to operate aboard the ship.”

As the U.S. military and its regional allies put an emphasis on shipborne operations, the use of a common attack helicopter model for amphibious missions would benefit joint efforts, Ball added.

Light, armed and taking flight

In the meantime, a light, armed version of the Surion performed flight demonstrations during the show. Based on the Airbus H155, the Light Armed Helicopter, or LAH, is under development by KAI and Airbus Helicopters.

The LAH development is a parallel effort with the Light Civil Helicopter, or LCH. KAI plans to develop the 4.5-metric-ton LCH by 2021 and then modify it into the LAH by 2023.

KAI rolled out an LAH prototype in December, and the helo completed its maiden flight in July.

The LAH is armed with the turreted 20mm Gatling gun under its nose. The aircraft is also mounted with 70mm rockets, missile early warning systems, and laser/radar warning receivers.

KAI plans to build about 200 LAHs to replace Bell AH-1 Cobras and older MD 500 helicopters flown by the South Korean Army.

The KF-X program for a 4.5-generation fighter, worth $7.4 billion, seeks to develop an advanced twin-engine fighter jet on par with the latest F-16 variant of Lockheed Martin by 2026, with the rollout of the first prototype happening in 2021. Korea Aerospace Industries, or KAI, is responsible for the systems development and integration.

During the CDR session at the end of September, members of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, or DAPA, examined nearly 400 kinds of technical data to see if the technologies meet the capability requirements before giving the green light to prototype development.

“The KF-X program now enters the prototype development phase as its CDR was approved,” said Jung Kwang-seon, chief of DAPA’s KF-X development team. “We will strive to develop and deploy the KF-X aircraft with advanced capabilities meeting the combat requirements.”

The jet’s full-sized mock-up was unveiled for the first time at the Seoul Aerospace and Defense Exhibition, or ADEX, which is taking place from Oct. 15 to 20.

The model has six under-wing hard points: two for external fuel tanks, two laser-guided bombs, and two other IRIS-T short-range air-to-air missiles. Four MBDA Meteor beyond-visual-range air-to-air missiles are nestled under the fuselage, while a mock-up of the Lockheed Martin Sniper targeting pod is mounted on the right cheek station.

KAI spokesman Kim Ji-hyung told Defense News that the KF-X is still open to U.S. missile systems. Originally, the DAPA hoped the KF-X would be equipped with U.S. armament, such as Raytheon-built AIM-120C advanced medium-range air-to-air missile, and AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles, but the U.S. government has yet to approve the export license of the missiles.

“It’s easy to integrate U.S. missiles into the aircraft, and we’re open to the possibility,” Kim said. “It’s just a matter of U.S. export controls of weapons systems.”

Fitted with a homegrown active electronically scanned array, or AESA, radar, the jet has a max take-off weight of 25,600 kg and a max payload of 7,700 kg, according to KAI. The jet can fly as fast as Mach 1.8 and has a cruising distance of 2,900 km.

The KF-X Block I will not have an internal weapons carriage, which is planned for subsequent production blocks. The initial version will also lack air-to-ground striking capability since the homegrown long-range air-to-ground missile is to be developed by the mid-2020s. The Korean version of the Taurus air-to-ground missile is being developed by LIG Nex1, the country’s precision guided weapons maker.

“Though it’s called a 4.5-generation aircraft, the KF-X bears similarities to the fifth-generation F-35A,” KAI said in press material. “It’s operating cost is half of the U.S. stealth jet and features high-tech maneuvering capability next to the F-35A.”

Despite development progress, there are signs of challenges in the jet fighter program, including a potential funding loophole. That’s because Indonesia, the only international partner of the KF-X, has been backtracking from its original commitment to investing 20 percent of the development costs. KAI is obliged to pay for 20 percent, and the government is to fund the remainder.

Under a 2016 deal, Indonesia is obliged to pay around $1.3 billion to acquire up to 48 jets called IF-X in Indonesia and get the transfer of fighter jet technologies.

But the South Asian nation has paid only $190 million, some 13 percent of its financial commitment, citing domestic budgetary constraints. As of July, Indonesia has funding shortfall of $250 million, according to DAPA officials.

Jakarta, instead of cash, has offered to make payment in kind, including the provision of CN235 transport aircraft produced by Indonesian Aerospace, also known as PTDI, under a license.

Indonesia also reportedly asked to renegotiate the terms of deals on the KF-X/IF-X, with a focus on getting more technology transfer from South Korea.

“It’s a thorny issue,” a DAPA source said, asking not to be named. “The two governments have been in consultations over the funding issue but have yet to narrow a gap.”

Much attention has been on the development of the indigenous AESA radar, which experts see as the toughest challenge of the KF-X program.

In May, the DAPA announced the CDR of the AESA radar, developed by Hanwha Systems, was completed for the first production prototype to be disclosed in the second half of 2020.

Hanwha Systems, formerly known as Samsung Thales, has completed the AESA hardware with the help of Israel’s Elta Systems.

In April, airborne tests of the hardware systems were carried out with technical assistance from Italy’s Leonardo, according to Hanwha officials. The flight test bed was carried out onboard a 737-500 airplane, and the radar is to be further tested in South Korea.

“The radar is scheduled to be tested aboard an actual KF-X prototype aircraft in 2023 with the goal of completing all aspects of development by 2026,” said Jang Bo-seop, a marketing manager of Hanwha Systems.

He said the KF-X AESA has more than 1,000 transmit-receive antenna modules to perform close to the Northrop Grumman APG-83 Scalable Agile Beam Radar that equips the F-16V.

“Developing AESA software and integrating it into the hardware is a tough task,” said a retired Air Force officer who serves as a member of DAPA’s KF-X advisory group. “There are risks down the road in spite of progress in the early development phase.”

SEOUL — South Korea will begin the second phase of its plan to acquire stealthy fighter jets, code-named F-X III, by acquiring 20 more F-35s, the country’s arms procurement agency has confirmed.

The Asian economic power had ordered 40 F-35As for Air Force operations under a 2014 deal worth about $6.4 billion, with the delivery of the fifth-generation fighters starting earlier this year.

“The government is preparing to launch the second phase of the F-X III in 2021 for the five years to come,” the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, or DAPA, said in a report to the National Assembly on Oct. 7. About $3.3 billion will go toward buying the additional Lockheed Martin-made aircraft, the report noted.

Which F-35 variant is under consideration has been a point of debate here. Multiple defense sources say the government will buy the F-35A, which is designed to land on traditional runways. But the “B” variant’s short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing capability allows it to take off and land from South Korea’s new large-deck landing ship planned for deployment in the 2030s.

“The state-funded Korea Institute for Defense Analyses, or KIDA, has concluded a study on the additional acquisition of F-35 aircraft, and the study is to suggest the introduction of more F-35As be more feasible,” a source at the Ministry of National Defense told Defense News on the condition of anonymity.

“There are two issues [with getting] the F-35B. First, it’s more expensive than the conventional-takeoff-and-landing version. Second, the deployment of a carrier-type landing ship is far away from now,” the source said.

In July, the South Korean military approved a plan to construct a carrier-type landing platform helicopter ship as part of its long-term force buildup plan. The new vessel is to be refit to displace 30,000 tons, double the capacity of the previous two types with 14,500 tons of displacement.

On Oct. 1, the Air Force showcased its F-35As for the first time since it received the fighters during an Armed Forces Day ceremony.

The service has so far brought in eight units, with five more arriving here by year’s end. Fourteen more aircraft are scheduled to be delivered to South Korea next year, according to the service.

“For its operational deployment, we are now carrying out related processes such as training pilots and maintenance technicians and the construction of facilities and relevant systems,” the service said in a report submitted to lawmakers on Oct. 10. “As a centerpiece of the country’s strategic targeting scheme against potential enemy forces, the radar-evading warplane is expected to boost operational capabilities and strengthen the readiness posture against threats from all directions.”

The F-35A can fly at a top speed of Mach 1.8 and carry top-of-the-line weapons systems such as the Joint Direct Attack Munition.

North Korea has decried the deployment of F-35 aircraft in South Korea due to the jet’s capability to evade radars and penetrate its territory. In July, Pyongyang threatened to destroy all the F-35As arriving in South Korea.

A senior North Korean official was quoted by the state-run media as saying that the North has “no other choice but to develop and test the special armaments to completely destroy the lethal weapons reinforced in South Korea.”

North Korea test-fired new short-range ballistic missiles and guided rockets in recent months. The weapons take aim at the F-35 base in particular, experts say.

The ballistic missile, identified as KN-23, appears to have been modeled after Russia’s SS-26/Iskander. It’s believed to be capable of maneuvering at different altitudes and trajectories during flight so as to evade anti-ballistic missiles.

Under the midterm defense budget plan, the South Korean military will spend about $240 billion, representing an annual defense budget increase of 7 percent over the 2020-2024 period. Out of this, some $85 billion would be invested on arms improvements, marking a 10.3 percent year-on-year increase over the next five years.

To enhance its low-tier missile network, called the Korea Air and Missile Defense system, or KAMD, South Korea plans to acquire two more ground-based anti-missile early warning radars and three more Aegis-equipped destroyers.

“The missile defense system is to have a larger defense area with increased intercept capabilities,” the ministry said in a statement. “By upgrading the Patriot and Cheolmae II missile systems, along with the ongoing development of L-SAM, we will establish a multi-layered defense capability enough to intercept new types of North Korean short-range ballistic missiles more effectively.”

L-SAM refers to a locally made long-range surface-to-air missile current under development, while the Cheolmae II, also known as KM-SAM, is a domestically manufactured medium-range surface-to-air missile capable of engaging an incoming target at an altitude as high as 20 kilometers.

South Korea has deployed several batteries of upgraded Patriot Advanced Capability-2, or PAC-2, systems bought from Germany. For upgrades, the country gave an order of new PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement, or MSE, missiles under a U.S. Foreign Military Sales contract valued at about $53 million.

“The PAC-3 MSE uses a two-pulse solid rocket motor that increases altitude and range to defend against evolving threats, so that the newer missile interceptors are expected to be useful in thwarting the North’s new type of missile threats,” a ministry source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“The ballistic missile operational center is also to be upgraded to help detect enemy targets eight times more than now and increase interoperability with other radars and interceptors,” he added.

For the past month, North Korea launched new types of short-range ballistic missiles and multiple launch rocket systems in defiance of the U.S.-South Korean training exercises that began Aug. 11.

One of the missiles has been identified as KN-23, modeled on Russia’s Iskander, capable of flying horizontally and then diving to a target to avoid interception. On Aug. 10, North Korea also test-fired another type of ground-to-ground ballistic missile on par with the Army Tactical Missile System, or ATACMS, deployed in the South, according to analysts.

The South’s midterm defense improvement plans also involve strengthening independent capabilities of reconnaissance and surveillance. To that end, the ministry plans to acquire five spy satellites by 2023 and deploy mid- and high-altitude unmanned reconnaissance planes.

The military also plans to locally build a ship armed with precision-guided missiles, a large-deck landing ship that can carry short takeoff-and-landing fighter jets, and 3,000-ton heavy attack submarines.

Among other force improvement plans are the acquisition of electromagnetic pulse bombs, SM-3 ship-launched surface-to-air missiles, more airlifters and upgrades of F-15K sensors, including an anti-jamming system.

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On July 31, the North launched two rockets off its east coast. The test came less than a week after the country test-fired two short-range ballistic missiles identified as KN-23 missiles, modeled on Russia’s SS-26/Iskander, amid the continued stalemate in negotiations over the North’s denuclearization.

The ballistic missiles, launched July 25 off the eastern waters of the peninsula, flew about 600 kilometers at an altitude of 50 kilometers, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff. The July 31 rockets flew some 250 kilometers at an altitude of 30 kilometers.

North Korea’s state media said the rockets were a new variant that could expand the country’s ability to strike major facilities across the South, including American military bases.

According to the North’s official Korean Central News Agency, or KCNA, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw the guided rockets launch. “It would be an inescapable distress to the forces becoming a fat target of the weapon,” Kim was quoted by the KCNA as saying.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff, which had originally identified the weapon as the KN-23, confirmed the trajectory of the rockets proved the so-called pull-up maneuver in the dive phase. “In the reentry phase, the projectile pulled up to fly horizontally and then dived to a target with a near 90-degree falling angle, an apparent move to help avoid interception,” a Joint Chiefs of Staff source told Defense News on condition of anonymity.

The KN-23 was twice tested in May, with one of the missiles flying about 420 kilometers. Compared to liquid-fueled Scud missiles fired at launch sites, the new missile uses solid fuel, which makes it easier to transport and quicker to launch. The new missile is launched on mobile trucks and could carry a nuclear warhead with up to 500 kilograms.

How is the F-35 related?

Some weapons analysts believe the new missiles and rockets were developed for targeting a base for F-35As being delivered to the South Korean Air Force. The North has called the fifth-generation jets “extremely dangerous.”

“The blurred photos revealed by the North show the multiple-launch rocket system is a larger caliber than the existing 300mm MLRS, and it resembles the Chinese-made 400mm, guided WS-2 MLRS,” said Kim Dong-yub, an analyst with the Institute for Far Eastern Studies at Kyungnam University, Seoul.

“If the new rocket has a feature of passive homing guidance like the WS-2, the range, accuracy and power of the rocket would be improved to a greater extent,” he added. “Furthermore, the guided rocket could evade radars at key air bases, including the F-35 base in the mid-part of the South.”

South Korea bought 40 Lockheed Martin F-35As under a 2014 deal. Four have been delivered to the Air Force, and the remainder is set to arrive by 2021. The Ministry of National Defense plans to purchase 20 more.

The radar-evading stealth fighters are located at an Air Force base in Cheongju, about 130 kilometers south of the capital Seoul.

Before the KN-23 missile tests, North Korea already slammed Seoul’s deployment of F-35As, warning it would respond by developing and testing unspecified special weapons of its own to destroy the American-made aircraft.

“Seoul’s purchase of the U.S. jets was meant to please the United States, their master,” an unidentified research director affiliated with the North’s Foreign Ministry said on KCNA. “North Korea has no other choice but to develop and test the special armaments to completely destroy the lethal weapons reinforced in South Korea.”

An arms race

Shin Jong-woo, a senior analyst at the Korea Defense and Security Forum, said that “if ballistic missiles or guided rockets fly at a low altitude, the rate of interception would decrease, so that the South Korean military is required to bolster its air and missile defense shield.”

Indeed, the country is on track to set up the low-tier Korea Air and Missile Defense system. The shield includes Patriot Advanced Capability-2 and -3 interceptors, ship-based SM-2 missiles, and locally developed medium-range surface-to-air missiles.

“The South Korean military has PAC-2 batteries in place to protect key bases, but they are unequal to the new type of North Korean ballistic missiles in the case of an emergency,” said Kim Yeon-hwan, a defense professor at Kookmin University in Seoul. “To thwart new types of threats, the military needs to beef up air defense systems.”

South Korea has deployed eight batteries of upgraded PAC-2s bought from Germany, and it plans to procure newer PAC-3 missiles by 2020.

In a move to better detect signs missile launches from transporter-erector-launcher vehicles, or TEL, the South Korean military plans to acquire four Joint Surveillance and Target Attack Radar System aircraft. Raytheon, Boeing and Israel Aerospace Industries are competing for the project, valued at about $1.7 billion.

North Korea is known to have some 800 ballistic missiles and operate about 100 TELs.

Meanwhile, a newly constructed North Korean submarine would be capable of carrying three submarine-launched ballistic missiles, according to analysis from the South Korean Ministry of National Defense. On July 23, North Korean state media unveiled photos of North Korea’s leader inspecting a new sub.

“There is a possibility that the new submarine is slightly larger than a Gorae-class submarine,” said Rep. Lee Hye-hoon, chief of the parliamentary Intelligence Committee, according to a report by the ministry. The Gorae-class submarine falls into the 2,500-ton class.

Lee added that the North may have revamped an old-fashioned 1,800-ton Romeo-class submarine imported from the Soviet Union in the 1970s.

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The decision was made during a July 12 meeting of top brass presided over by Gen. Park Han-ki, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Anti-Japanese sentiment in South Korea is gaining traction over Tokyo’s export restrictions on high-tech materials to South Korea.

“The plan of building the LPH-II ship has been included in a long-term force buildup plan,” said a spokesman for the Joint Chiefs, speaking on condition of anonymity and using an acronym for “landing platform helicopter.”

“Once a preliminary research is completed within a couple of years, the shipbuilding plan is expected to be included in the midterm acquisition list,” the spokesman added.

The new LPH is to be refit to displace 30,000 tons, double the capacity of the previous two LPHs — Dokdo and Marado — with 14,500 tons of displacement. The carrier-type vessel is also bigger than the 27,000 tons associated with Japan’s Izumo-class helicopter destroyers.

“It’s the first time that a light aircraft carrier-class ship is pursued under South Korea’s force improvement plans,” Kim Dae-young, an analyst at the Seoul-based Korea Research Institute for National Strategy, told Defense News. “It’s also a symbolic and meaningful step to upgrade the country’s naval capability against potential threats posed by Japan and China.”

Japan has plans to convert its two Izumo-class helicopter destroyers by 2023 to light aircraft carriers from which the F-35B short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing (STOVL) jet can operate.

China is building two more aircraft carriers in addition to Liaoning, a refurbished ex-Soviet carrier. A modified version of the Liaoning is currently being fitted out in northern China, while another, larger carrier is having its modules built at a shipyard in the city of Shanghai. China is also building a Type 075 helicopter assault ship at another shipyard in the same city, while continuing to crank out a variety of conventional and nuclear-powered submarines.

South Korea bought 40 F-35As for its Air Force in 2014 for $6.75 billion, and 20 more could be purchased as part of midterm arms-buildup plans. In tandem with the light aircraft carrier plan, the military is considering buying 20 more F-35Bs, a defense procurement source said.

“A pilot study on the purchase of F-35Bs is being conducted by a state-funded research institute. The study results are to be released as early as September,” the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “The study weighs in on two options to replace the order of F-35As with F-35Bs, and buy 20 more F-35s additionally.”

The new carrier is expected to hold 16 STOVL aircraft, 3,000 marines and 20 armored vehicles, according to the source. The LPH-II is expected to have a ski jump-style launch ramp.

The South Korean Navy has already launched two Dokdo-class LPHs in an effort to develop its blue-water operational capability, as well as counter North Korean threats.

In May 2018, the second Dokdo-class LPH was launched with reconfigurations from the lead ship. The 199-meter-long, 31-meter-wide LPH is equipped with a fixed-panel 3D surveillance radar built by Elta Systems, a subsidiary of Israel Aerospace Industries, in place of the Thales SMART 3D radar aboard the Dokdo.

As for Marado, its flight deck was adapted to accommodate two V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft, while the Dokdo could carry only one V-22. Marado is also fitted with two Phalanx close-in weapon systems, instead of the Goalkeeper CIWS installed on the Dokdo.

The Dokdo-class LPH can carry up to 720 fully equipped marines, 10 tanks, 10 trucks, seven amphibious assault vehicles and three artillery systems. It can sail at a maximum speed of 41 KPH with a crew of 300 on board.

The well deck has a capacity for two landing craft. Below the deck hanger, 15 helicopters, including two V-22s, can fit while the flight deck can simultaneously accommodate up to five helicopters of all types.

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Mike Yeo in Melbourne, Australia, contributed to this report.

The relocation plan, agreed to by South Korean Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo and acting U.S. Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan, has sparked debate over operational efficiency of the future joint command and defense readiness against North Korea. The northern neighbor has deployed much of its artillery in range of Seoul.

“The two sides have shared the understanding that this (relocation) measure will enhance the operational efficiency of the CFC and a combined readiness posture,” the Ministry of National Defense said in a statement, using an acronym for Combined Forces Command.

Under the agreement, the CFC that is currently located in Yongsan, central Seoul, will be relocated to Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, some 70 kilometers south of Seoul. The sprawling Army garrison, spread over 3,500 acres, is a consolidated base for U.S. troops in South Korea and houses major command posts and combat units stationed in the country.

U.S. Forces Korea, United Nations Command and the Eighth U.S. Army moved to Camp Humphreys under a base relocation pact signed in 2004. Most of the units belonging to the U.S. Army’s 2nd Infantry Division deployed near the Demilitarized Zone were relocated to the rural area under a separate pact signed in 2002.

Originally, the CFC headquarters were to remain in Seoul and move into the local Defense Ministry complex in tandem with the transition of operational control of American and South Korean troops during wartime from a U.S. Army general to a South Korean commander by 2022.

Wartime command authority is currently in the hands of the CFC commander, who serves as chief of U.S. Forces Korea and United Nations Command.

But the plan was overturned by U.S. Gen. Robert Abrams, who was sworn in as CFC commander in November 2018. The general reportedly called for a reconsideration of the CFC’s move to the ministry complex, citing operational efficiency concerns and the cost of establishing accommodations for CFC staffers and their family members.

“At the appropriate future time, ROK and U.S. government leadership will announce an alliance decision on the future CFC headquarters location, which will be in the best interests of the ROK-U.S. Alliance and strengthen CFC’s ability to perform its missions,” Abrams said in a statement May 16, using the acronym for South Korea’s official name, the Republic of Korea.

Some security experts in South Korea say the CFC’s relocation to Camp Humphreys will benefit efficiency among U.S. commanders, but they raise concern over the physical separation of South Korean and U.S. commands and how that could impact communication and relationships between the allied forces.

“Simply put, two separate commands far away from each other would be less efficient in terms of joint or combined operational command than a unified command in the same space,” Kim Ki-ho, a former South Korean Army colonel who oversaw military operation planning at the CFC, told Defense News.

“At the CFC headquarters, South Korean commanders can obtain classified information and intelligence from U.S. intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets almost in real time, especially in time of North Korea’s military provocations, such as missile test firings,” said Kim, who is now a professor of international politics at Kyonggi University in Seoul. “I’m worried [whether] the commanders of the two militaries could share intelligence more and better than now.”

Defense Ministry spokeswoman Choi Hyun-soo brushed off those concerns.

“In future warfare, geographical distance doesn’t carry significance, and the combined defense posture has been well confirmed through the C4I systems,” she said. “The U.S. has reaffirmed its ironclad security commitment to South Korea, and the allied forces have done their best to achieve the safety and security of the people.”

However, a key adviser to South Korea’s defense minister said the U.S. military doesn’t want to be controlled by a South Korean commander, “whether it’s a [Joint Chiefs of Staff] chairman or a separate four-star general.”

“It seems the U.S. military doesn’t trust the South Korean wartime commanding capability — at least now — and that’s why they want to keep its command-and-control facility at the consolidated base in Pyeongtaek,” said the adviser, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Practically speaking, the adviser added, “even though a South Korean general is selected as CFC commander, he would likely be dependent on the deputy commander from the U.S. military.”

Kim, the former Army colonel, offered a more frank analogy of the envisaged chain of command.

“It’s like a vice chairman, who has 95 percent of shares in his company, is controlled by a chairman with only 5 percent. It’s a really tough mission for the chairman to lead the company independently as planned,” he said.

Park Won-gon, an international relations professor at Handong Global University in Pohang, believes the decision for the U.S. to move a key command away from the capital implies the country doesn’t want to play the role of “tripwire” in possible North Korean aggression.

“Instead, the U.S. military would provide air and naval support at a certain level in the case of an emergency,” Park said.

The two allies are scheduled to stage the first-ever South Korea-led training exercise in August as part of efforts to verify whether South Korean commanders are on course to meet the conditions required for the transition of wartime operational control.

“When I think of an alliance, the word that comes to mind is ‘trust’ — incredible trust between our countries forged in combat nearly 70 years ago,” Shanahan said this month during talks with South Korean officials. “This is also apparent, tremendous strides that the CFC is taking to more rapidly fulfill conditions for the transition of wartime operational control from the U.S. commander to a South Korean commander.”

Defense News caught up with retired Maj. Gen. Jung Soo, who currently heads the Institute of Defense Management at Kookmin University in Seoul, to talk about the country’s weapons wish list.

Jung previously led the command and reconnaissance aircraft program office of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration. He retired from the South Korean Air Force in 2013. He is a former classmate of Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo and serves as a key policy adviser to the defense chief.

Why is the South Korean military’s operational focus shifting so rapidly?

I believe the security environments on the Korean Peninsula are on a path to peace, slowly but surely, in spite of the stalled nuclear disarmament negotiations — though the North fired off some short-range missiles recently, an apparent move to attract the attention of U.S. President Donald Trump. In the face of the changing security paradigm, South Korea should brace for responding to potential regional threats beyond the North. That’s why the government has decided to raise its defense spending over the next five years by 7.6 percent annually.

What is the military’s key focus in terms of weapons acquisition?

It is largely centered on boosting air power. F-35 stealth fighters and air-refueling tankers have just started to be deployed, which are to upgrade South Korea’s air power significantly.

On top of these aircraft, in particular we need more information, surveillance and reconnaissance, or ISR, assets, which are also key components to help South Korean armed forces lead theater operations after taking over wartime command authority from the U.S. military. For example, we need two more airborne early warning aircraft, in addition to the existing four E-737 AEW&Cs, for more effective ISR operations in the region.

The military also has a plan to introduce a Joint Surveillance and Target Attack Radar System to monitor and detect moving targets on the ground. The Air Force has also set the requirement for acquiring electronic warfare aircraft.

What emerging technologies is South Korea eyeing?

The South Korean military is very much interested in adopting unmanned technologies. The Army has launched a weaponized drone unit not only could engage in reconnaissance missions to key enemy areas, but it could also be used to launch swarm attacks against the enemy.

In an effort to enhance the so-called Kill Chain preemptive strike system, the military is considering an option to procure unmanned aerial vehicles equipped with radar-evading stealth functions, which would be able to penetrate into an enemy site to shorten the sensor-to-shooter timeline.

What are key challenges to South Korea’s weapons development schemes?

As for fighter jets, South Korea has a top capability to manufacture platforms, as the KF-X fighter development program is going on. The rub, [or flaw], is we don’t have our own air-launched weapons. A project to locally develop a long-range air-to-ground missile in the Taurus class has only started. Developing air-launched missiles is such a difficult mission since it requires state-of-the-art technologies, and it requires advanced weapons integration techniques and the weapon’s interface to a radar.

On May 4, North Korea fired a salvo of rockets and tactical guided weapons near the east coast city of Wonsan, marking the first military provocation in 17 months, during a live-fire drill reportedly attended by its leader Kim Jong Un. The projectiles flew 70-240 kilometers before crashing into the eastern waters off the Korean Peninsula, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Shin Jong-woo, a senior analyst at the Seoul-based Korea Defense and Security Forum, analyzed photos of the weapons systems released by the North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency a day after the test launch.

“The newly tested weapon, which had been made public during a military parade last year, appears to the Russian Iskander look-alike,” he said. “The design of wings and warhead shown in the photos resembles that of Iskander, and the North Korean missile seems to copy the solid-propellant, single-stage guided missile of the Russian precision ballistic missile complex.

“The number of wheels for the transporter-erector-launcher is also [the] same.”

Shin Won-shik, a former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the new ballistic missile type might be able to penetrate South Korea’s missile defense systems.

“The Iskander missile is known to be capable of maneuvering at different altitudes and trajectories during flight so as to evade anti-ballistic missiles,” the retired three-star general said. “The South Korean missile shield has been developed with a focus on coping with existing ballistic missiles, such as Scud and No Dong missiles, so there are questions if the current missile defense plans are fitted for thwarting the newer missile threat.”

South Korea is on track to build its own low-tier missile shield dubbed the Korea Air and Missile Defense system or KAMD — a network that includes Patriot Advanced Capability-2 and -3 interceptors, ship-based SM-2 missiles, and locally developed medium-range surface-to-air missiles. The U.S. Army’s Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system was deployed in the southern part of South Korea in 2007 to augment the low-tier, terminal-phase KAMD.

South Korea also has an operational plan to preemptively destroy key North Korean military targets should the North show signs of a missile launch or cross-border attack. The plan is part of the so-called Kill Chain program involving airborne early warning and surveillance assets, precision-guided missiles from fighter jets and ground-based systems.

“The Kill Chain is based on the premise that our military can detect, track and strike targets prior to [an] enemy’s real attacks,” Shin said. “Compared to liquid-fuel missiles, solid-fuel missiles could be fired faster and have greater mobility. In the worst-case scenario, the KAMD and Kill Chain systems may need to be redesigned to thwart the newer threats.”

North Korea’s new missile was likely upgraded from the North’s KN-02 Toksa missile, also modified from the Russian OTR-21 Tochka short-range ballistic missile, according to Shin Jong-woo.

“North Korea has long been developing Russian-origin missile technologies, [though] it’s unclear if the communist regime would have taken those technologies from a third country operating Iskander systems, such as Syria and Algeria,” he added.

Developed in the 1970s as a replacement for the Scud short-range ballistic missile, the Iskander is a road-based mobile launch system that can fire several models of ballistic and cruise missiles. It is said to have at least seven types of missiles with different conventional warheads, including a high-explosive fragmentation warhead and nuclear warheads.

The missile is known to have a range of up to 500 kilometers and controlled with gas-dynamic and aerodynamic control surfaces. It uses small fins to reduce its radar signature.

“The missile is potentially capable of conducting strikes on all areas of South Korea, including key American military installations,” according to Kim Dong-yub, an analyst at Kyungnam University’s Institute of Far Eastern Studies. “What worries most is the missile could carry a nuclear warhead with up to 500 kilograms.”

About 28,500 American forces are stationed in South Korea. The U.S. military’s main headquarters is based in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of the capital Seoul.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo played down the North Korean missile threat in an interview with ABC News on Sunday, noting the missiles are “relatively short range” and “landed in the water east of North Korea and didn’t present a threat to the United States or to South Korea or Japan.”

Presided over by Defense Minister Jeong Kyung-doo, a top executive committee of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) endorsed April 30 the $3.3 billion effort to acquire the additional destroyers by 2028.

The batch 2 ships of the KDX-III Sejong the Great-class are expected to be fitted with the Raytheon-built RIM-161 Standard Missile 3, or SM-3, according to DAPA officials.

“The construction [of more Aegis destroyers] will help the South Korean Navy respond to potential maritime disputes more effectively as well as carry out peacekeeping mission more successfully, as the ships are supposed to have upgraded ship-to-air and underwater operational capability,” DAPA spokesman Park Jung-eun told reporters.

The new batch of Aegis destroyers, in particular, would have an up-to-date software suite for destroying incoming ballistic missiles, the spokesman added. The three batch 1 ships are equipped with the SM-2 interceptor designed to engage anti-ship cruise missiles during the terminal intercept phase.

The purchase of ballistic missile interceptors was included in South Korea’s five-year midterm force improvement plan, according to DAPA and Navy sources.

The ship-based interceptor is a key part of the country’s own missile shield, dubbed the Korea Air and Missile Defense, or KAMD — a network that includes Patriot Advanced Capability-2 and -3 interceptors, ship-based SM-2 missiles, and locally developed medium-range surface-to-air missiles.

The U.S. Army’s Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system was deployed in the southern part of South Korea in 2007 to augment the low-tier, terminal-phase KAMD.

“The Joint Chiefs of Staff set an operational requirement of intercepting an incoming ballistic missile at an altitude over 100 kilometers,” a source with the Joint Chiefs of Staff told Defense News on condition of anonymity. “The SM-3 certainly meets the requirement. It’s a shoo-in.”

The hit-to-kill SM-3 is known to be capable of taking down targets at altitudes of 150-500 kilometers. The newest variant, the SM-3 IIA, can hit targets at an altitude of up to 1,000 kilometers.

Hyundai Heavy Industries is scheduled to sign a contract with DAPA on the construction and integration of batch 2 Aegis destroyer systems in June, according to DAPA officials, while the arms agency signed a contract with Lockheed Martin earlier this year to buy an upgraded Aegis ballistic missile defense system, the Baseline 9.C2, for the Sejong the Great-class Aegis destroyers.

The DAPA also approved a plan to develop three more heavy-attack submarines by 2028. Under the plan code-named KSS-III, three 3,450-ton submarines are to be constructed for $2.9 billion.

The newer submarines are to be designed 450 tons heavier and 6 meters longer than batch 1, and they will be fitted with 10 vertical launch cells, according to the DAPA.

The batch 2 subs will also be equipped with lithium-ion batteries that can double the operational hours compared to those with lead-acid batteries. The systems development contract for the KSS-III batch 2 program is to be signed in June with local company Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering.