By Sang Jun Lee

On April 11, South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense released an interim investigation report on three unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) discovered in Paju, Baengnyeong Island, and Samcheok in March 2014. The report indicated three crashed UAVs have flown over and taken more than two hundred photographs of South Korean military and governmental installations, yet failed to return to their respective landing points in North Korea. Pyongyang on April 14 accused Seoul of “fabricating” the connection to the UAVs in question and later called for a joint investigation. South Korea rejected the offer on the next day, arguing it is part of a “psychological warfare” effort meant to cause domestic commotion.

The investigation up to date alleged North Korea as both manufacturer and operator of the three UAVs. However, analysis of their external characteristics and performance specifications indicates a high probability that these UAV technologies are of Chinese origin, as they demonstrate remarkable similarities in these areas to the SKY-09 series UAV and UV10CAM UAV produced by China TranComm Technologies (中交通信科技有限公司) and Microfly Engineering Technology (迈凯飞工程技术有限公司). As you can see in the images below, there are similarities in the shape of the airframes and accompanying features.

 

The SKY-09 series is a triangular-shaped UAV with gull (M-shaped) wings and a vertical stabilizer. It is launched from a catapult and lands by parachute. A digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) camera is mounted in the fuselage for ground surveillance with a number of lens choices available, including wide-angle and telephoto, which is visible in the product manual. The mounted camera can be rigged to automatically take photos through pre-programmable camera control commands. Captured images are stored on the camera’s Secure Digital memory card for manual retrieval after landing.

SKY-09 series UAVs can also be equipped with a range of customized payload for specific mission profiles. The manufacturer suggests its UAVs are optimized for ground surveillance, such as high-resolution mapping and investigation of a designated ground target. In a released photo of an inspection of Korean People’s Army Unit 1501, Kim Jong-un may have even inadvertently revealed possession of a similar UAV.

A separate crashed UAV found on Baengnyeong Island bore similarities to a Beijing Microfly Engineering’s commercial mode as these photos show:

As seen in the images, the UV10CAM UAV has conventional straight wings, 100 degree V-tails, and two wheels in front. According to a product description, the aircraft is launched from a catapult and is equipped with a parachute for landing. The UV10CAM series UAV comes with more advanced onboard aviation controllers relative to that of the SKY-09 series, as it can automatically generate flight and camera control commands based on the remote sensing data acquired during the flight. The flight program provides a fully automated mode that enables self-takeoff, altitude and cruise control, and landing. The aircraft can also be remotely controlled by the ground station that can be installed in a small to medium sized vehicle for mobile deployment.

Comparing the respective technical specifications of these two Chinese commercial models to those of the recovered North Korean drones based on reported open-source information reinforces the similarities.

Table 1: Specifications – Paju/Samcheok UAV / SKY-09 series UAV

Sources: 中交通信无人机产品手册 (China TranComm UAV Product Manual), Yonhap News, JoongAng Daily, Chosun Daily.

Table 2: Specifications – Baengnyeong Island UAV / UV10CAM UAV Aerial Remote Sensing System

Sources: 迈凯飞工程技术有限公司 (Microfly Engineering Technology), Yonhap News, JoongAng Daily, Chosun Daily.

The UAVs described here are commercially available for purchase without substantial restrictions. In parallel to efforts to develop its indigenous UAV technologies, North Korea may have decided to simultaneously procure a number of Chinese-made UAVs for immediate deployment against South Korea. It is also possible that the North may have reverse-engineered or modified the imported UAVs according to their specific needs for mass reproduction. UAV technologies provide clear opportunities for North Korea to expand its tactical arsenal as they can play a variety of roles – attack, surveillance, targeting – while the technical barriers to entry for basic UAV capabilities are relatively low and cost-effective when compared to other available platforms with similar capability.

Mr. Sang Jun Lee is a research assistant with the Korea Chair at CSIS.