North Korea Debuts Suicide Drone Program
[Breitbart] North Korea revealed its first allegedly indigenous suicide drones and other combat vehicles on Monday in an article on communist dictator Kim Jong-un attending a drone performance test this weekend.
Kim emphasized that, for Pyongyang, “it is necessary to develop and produce more suicide drones of various types to be used in tactical infantry and special operation units,” according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
Suicide drones, also known as loitering munitions, are explosives-carrying unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that work by identifying a target and flying into it, detonating its payload. The most high-profile model of suicide drone currently in use is the Iranian “Shahed” class of drones, which Ukraine has accused Russia of deploying on its territory and Tehran itself unsuccessfully used to target Israel in April. The appeal of such drones is their relatively inexpensive manufacturing process, even compared to the famously cheap Bayraktar Turkish drone that Ukraine has incorporated into its anti-Russia efforts.
KCNA reported on Monday that Kim considers the development and mass manufacture of suicide drones a critical part of the defense of the nation from any potential South Korean or American attack. The outlet offered few details on what kinds of UAVs were present at the event the dictator attended, except to claim that all drone tests were successful.
Posted by: Skidmark 2024-08-27 |