U.S. Prepares to Sell Spy Drones to South Korea
Seoul is seeking four “advanced” surveillance drones priced at a total of $1.2 billion to gather intelligence on North Korea’s activities after the U.S. turns over wartime command of Korean troops -- a legacy of the 1950s Korean War -- later this decade.
Seoul is seeking four “advanced” surveillance drones priced at a total of $1.2 billion to gather intelligence on North Korea’s activities after the U.S. turns over wartime command of Korean troops — a legacy of the 1950s Korean War — later this decade.
Notice of the developing deal came from the Pentagon to Congress two weeks after North Korea surprised the world by launching a satellite via a rocket, a move seen by many as advancing its ballistic missile program.
— Posted by Alexander Reed Kelly.
Your support is crucial…Reuters via The Washington Post:
“The proposed sale of the RQ-4 will maintain adequate intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities and will ensure the alliance is able to monitor and deter regional threats in 2015 and beyond,” [a Pentagon document released Tuesday] said.
… Seoul has shown interest in the high-altitude, long-endurance Global Hawk platform for at least four years. The system, akin to Lockheed Martin’s U-2 spy plane, may be optimized to scan large areas for stationary and moving targets by day or night and despite cloud cover.
It transmits imagery and other data from 60,000 feet at near real-time speed, using electro-optical, infrared and radar-imaging sensors built by Raytheon.
With an uncertain future and a new administration casting doubt on press freedoms, the danger is clear: The truth is at risk.
Now is the time to give. Your tax-deductible support allows us to dig deeper, delivering fearless investigative reporting and analysis that exposes what’s really happening — without compromise.
Stand with our courageous journalists. Donate today to protect a free press, uphold democracy and unearth untold stories.
Editorial Cartoons
Military
As DOD integrates artificial intelligence into military operations, concerns rise over ethics, transparency, and unintended consequences.
Opinion
President Biden's rules on drone warfare mask continued violent Islamophobia.
Politics
Obama's only takeaway from the Syria episode was to never again seek Congressional approval for military action.
The president’s foreign policy seldom matches his anti-war rhetoric. In 2020, it’s incumbent on his opposition to offer a true alternative.
There’s a lot about our wars that we don’t know, but what we do know is enough to make a person cry.
You need to be a supporter to comment.
There are currently no responses to this article.
Be the first to respond.