South Korea preparing 'StarWars' laser defense system to take out North Korean drones
The lasers are expected to be used against drones and other aerial threats crossing the border
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}South Korea is preparing to launch a laser-based defense system that will more easily destroy drones flying in from the North.
The "Block-I" program, also referred to as "StarWars" hopes to make South Korea the first national military in the world to weaponize directed light.
"Our country is becoming the first country in the world to deploy and operate laser weapons, and our military’s response capabilities on North Korea’s drone provocation will be further strengthened," the nation's Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) wrote in a statement.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}KIM JONG UN SUPERVISED DRILLS SIMULATING ATTACKS ON SOUTH KOREA, NORTH KOREA
A North Korean guard post (top) on the North side of the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) dividing the two Koreas, is seen over a South Korean military fence (bottom) from the border city of Paju. (JUNG YEON-JE/AFP via Getty Images)
"We face North Korea on our doorstep and its drones pose present threats to us, so that’s why we’ve been aiming to build and deploy laser weapons soon to cope with them," an agency official told the Associated Press on background.
The lasers, developed in partnership with Hanwha Aerospace, would shoot sustained beams of light at aerial targets for up to 20 seconds.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The heat generated by the lasers can overheat and fry targets without necessitating a traditional projectile.
South Korean soldiers walk at the truce village of Panmunjom in the Joint Security Area (JSA) of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating North and South Korea, with a view of North Korea's Panmon Hall in the background. (Anthony Wallace/AFP via Getty Images)
Operation of these weapons is expected to be extremely effective for a small price, hypothetically costing less than $2 USD per discharge.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The most obvious outlet for the StarWars weaponry is against aerial targets from North Korea.
The communist nation has floated massive balloons carrying trash over the Demilitarized Zone and into South Korean airspace as a token of disrespect.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}North Korean leader Kim Jong Un delivers a speech during a meeting of Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea held from June 28 until July 1, in Pyongyang, North Korea. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
North Korea's balloons were allegedly released in response to similar crafts carrying anti-North Korean propaganda floated northward from South Korea by activists.
Supreme leader Kim Jong Un has abandoned any hopes of reconciling his hermit country with South Korea, instead embracing an unclear role in alliance with Russia and China.