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JH Ahn
JH Ahn was an NK News contributor based in Seoul. He previously worked as an interpreter for United States Forces Korea.
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News N.Korea possibly copied world-record holding drone, images suggestDPRK-"developed" UAV shares bears resemblance to first drone to cross Atlantic JH Ahn December 19, 2016 Wikimedia Commons, KCTV A recently introduced North Korean Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), claimed to be “developed” by North Korea, may be a reproduction of a record holding Western-made drone. While a North Korean news anchor from state-run KCTV announced last week that the drone was “self-produced” and “localized,” a long-time North Korean military watcher said it might be a replica of the Aerosonde Mark I, a drone first produced by a Melbourne, Australia-based institute. “It is possible that the Aerosonde Mark I was somehow smuggled into North Korea,” Choi Hyun-ho, director of Milidom.net, told NK News after being showing a comparison of the two models. “But the model is fairly well known in the world, so I do believe that the North Koreans could have produced their ‘own’ plane based on the Aerosonde’s data, aimed to catch up with its performance.” The Mark 1 Aerosonde model was the first robotic aircraft to cross the North Atlantic Ocean in 1998, and also the smallest aircraft, at the time, to make the crossing. The model was developed and manufactured by ES&S (precursor to Aerosonde Robotic Aircraft Pty Ltd) in Australia and purchased by the University of Washington with a grant from the U.S. Office of Naval Research. The Aerosonde is primarily used to gather weather data, including temperature, atmospheric pressure, and humidity. It is possible that the North Korean “developed” UAV was also built for similar purposes, as the banner on the KCTV clip claims that the vehicle is capable of “real-time surveillance, real-time tracking, atmospheric measurement, forest fire observation, and fishing ground exploration.” However, the performance of the North Korean drone remains unclear, as KCTV blurred the part of the banner with the relevant information. If the North Korean technicians have copied the original Mark 1 Aerosonde “Laima,” then the UAV should weigh around 13 kilograms, with a wingspan of 2.9 meters, operating both autonomously and under base command, and at a flight range of 3000 kilometers. Flying 3270 kilometers in 26 hours and 45 minutes during its record transatlantic flight, Laima flew at a mean speed of 120 km per hour while using only 5.6 liters of fuel during the whole flight. Laima proved sustainable enough to survive torrential rains of 14 to 18 hours, the data showed, while also storing “information on GPS location and altitude, and winds for the entire flight,” Monash University said. Another expert said the news corresponds with a recent article published by Yonhap News Agency, which said that Pyongyang “is in the process of developing a long-endurance aerial drone with greater capabilities,” quoting an anonymous South Korean government source. “The resemblance is remarkable,” Stijn Mitzer and Joost Oliemans of the Oryx blog told NK News. “However, this design is indeed not uncommon. For instance, the Iranian Yassir (itself a copy of the ScanEagle) uses a very similar design. Still, given this week’s reports of a long-range drone being tested, some link seems likely in this case.” Aerosonde Robotic Aircraft Pty Ltd was later acquired by the AAI Corporation in 2006, which was bought by Textron Systems in the following year. Textron has not yet responded to NK News’ inquiry on whether the company is aware of Pyongyang’s possible copy of its UAV. Featured Image: The Aerosonde Mark I “Laima” on the left, and the North Korean UAV on the right. Wikimedia Commons, KCTV A recently introduced North Korean Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), claimed to be “developed” by North Korea, may be a reproduction of a record holding Western-made drone. While a North Korean news anchor from state-run KCTV announced last week that the drone was “self-produced” and “localized,” a long-time North Korean military watcher said it might be a replica of the Aerosonde Mark I, a drone first produced by a Melbourne, Australia-based institute. Become a member for less than $4 per week.
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JH Ahn was an NK News contributor based in Seoul. He previously worked as an interpreter for United States Forces Korea.
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