SOUTH Korea is set to deploy the world’s first “Star Wars” laser weaponry system to smash North Korean drones out of the sky.
The “game changer” weapon will be installed along the borders to respond to tyrant Kim Jong-un‘s provocations who sits on an arsenal of nukes and chemical weapons.
ReutersBritain’s DragonFire laser being tested in the Hebrides[/caption]
North Korea shows off its firepower in artillery testing as it ramps up military drills
APSouth Korean army drones flying in the sky[/caption]
North Korean soldiers pictured near the border area in June
The laser weapon – dubbed “StarWar Project” – will shoot down drones with beams of light created using fibre optic cables, the Defence Acquisition Programme Administration (DAPA) said.
Each shot fired will last around 10 to 20 seconds – and will be invisible to the naked eye.
It will create a temperature of more than 700C which can then damage – or at least disable – a drone’s electrical components such as the circuit boards and batteries.
Developed by the South Korean military along with Hanwha Aerospace, the laser system can down drones at just £1.10 per shot – making it one of the cheapest drone-zapping systems in the world.
DAPA said in a statement: “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.
“Cost per fire is extremely cheap compared with other guided weapons. Responses to low-cost strike assets and weapons, such as small drones, will be able to take place very effectively and efficiently.”
The advanced drone-downing system is to be deployed by the end of this year.
And if successful, South Korea will become the first nation to use such technology – being developed by many countries including Britain – in military warfare.
It comes just months after North Korean drones crossed into South Korea.
In December, five Pyongyang drones entered South Korean territory, forcing Seoul to scramble fighter jets and attack helicopters to try to shoot down the drones.
ESCALATING TENSIONS
Border tensions have been escalating between North and South Korea – who are still at war as a peace treaty was never signed after the 1950-1953 Korean War.
A 2.5-mile wide Demilitarised Zone dividing the two countries is one of the most heavily mined places on Earth – strewn with landmines to deter enemy troops.
Last month, South Korea fired warning shots at North Korean soldiers twice in one week after troops crossed the border – the third incident in just a month.
Meanwhile, deranged dictator Kim has been laying more landmines, reinforcing roads and adding what looks like anti-tank barriers on the South’s doorstep.
Satellite images suggest the North is also building new defence lines right on the border – risking “escalation” and “bloodshed”, experts have warned.
Britain’s own drone-zapping laser
BRITAIN is testing its own laser weaponry system called DragonFire
The gun – designed to shoot down missiles, planes, drones and even satellites with “pin point accuracy” – is running five years behind schedule and has cost over £140 million to develop.
But the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) said it cost just a tenner per shot to fire – meaning millions of pounds could be saved in future conflicts.
Military top brass hope it could replace multi-million pound missiles like the Royal Navy’s Sea Viper system used against Houthi rebel drones and rockets over the Red Sea.
The highly focused laser beam can hit a pound coin from more than a mile away – and it needs to ammunition, using mirrors to focus heat on a specific point.
The DSTL, based in Wiltshire, said it blasts targets at the speed of light.
Its “intense beam of light” can cut through targets and explode missile warheads.
The laser cannon was tested for the first time in November 2022 – as it blasted a drone from over two miles away.
This most recent test means plans for the laser in combat can be accelerated to use against rising threats around the globe.
And Kim has been intensifying weapons tests as the US, South Korea and Japan host a flurry of war games in the region.
In a brazen intimidation move, North Korea sent a wave of 260 filthy faeces-filled balloons to South Korea last month.
Speaking to The Sun, Michael Madden, director and founder of NK Leadership Watch, said a “serious escalation” on the Korean peninsula would be triggered by “several days of incidents near the border”.
These “incidents” – including shots being fired – would unfold “for a period of about five days to a week before a serious escalation in tensions”.
This could then spark a “strategic miscalculation which could incite a larger conflict”.
“There are a number of tripwires and forums before it would reach that point,” he added.
Armed with an arsenal of nukes and chemical weapons, experts have warned a war with tyrant Kim Jong-un could be one of the bloodiest in history.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un pictured with his army
Royal Navy ships are now a step closer to being fitted with the high-powered laser weapon DragonFire
