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South Korea Defence Forum

S. Korea making progress in advanced radar development for fighters
Published on Jul 13, 2017


South Korea's military has unveiled the prototype of a new radar that will be used in the nation's indigenous fighter jet -- the KF-X.

Developers are confident the radar will be fully developed by 2022.

This is a prototype of the AESA radar.

The radar is considered the eyes and ears of a fighter jet and the AESA is one of four key components used in the development of South Korea's indigenous fighter jet project known as the KF-X.

The AESA radar can detect enemy forces both in the air and on the ground and has a detection radius of 60 degrees on all sides.

It's equipped with one thousand antennas that can project a beam to instantly detect numerous enemy targets in a split second. "The AESA radar is being developed with homegrown technology ...and if everything goes as planned the radar will be installed in the KF-X fighter jets by 2022."

The prototype was jointly made by South Korea's Agency for Defense Development and Hanwha Systems and it'll be put through rigorous testing before building the final product.

South Korea is taking charge of the development as U.S. declined to transfer key technologies needed for the fighter jet. ""The basic design of the prototype was made in last November and it only took four months to develop the module. We believe our technology for the fighter jet radar can compete with global powerhouses."

The KF-X project will start mass production in 2026 and is scheduled to produce 120 4.5-generation fighters to replace South Korea's aging fleet of F-4's and F-5's.

Kim Hyun-bin, Arirang News.
 
Hyunmoo Surface to Surface Missile
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No, We Cannot Shoot Down North Korea’s Missiles

The number one reason we don’t shoot down North Korea’s missiles is that we cannot.

Officials like to reassure their publics about our defense to these missiles. Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told his nation after last week’s test, “We didn’t intercept it because no damage to Japanese territory was expected.”

That is half true. The missile did not pose a serious threat. It flew over the Japanese island of Hokkaido, landing 3700 km (2300 miles) from its launch point near North Korea’s capital of Pyongyang.

The key word here is “over.” Like way over. Like 770 kilometers (475 miles) over Japan at the apogee of its flight path. Neither Japan nor the United States could have intercepted the missile. None of the theater ballistic missile defense weapons in existence can reach that high. It is hundreds of kilometers too high for the Aegis interceptors deployed on Navy ships off Japan. Even higher for the THAAD systems in South Korea and Guam. Way too high for the Patriot systems in Japan, which engage largely within the atmosphere.

All of these are basically designed to hit a missile in the post-mid-course or terminal phase, when it is on its way down, coming more or less straight at the defending system. Patriot is meant to protect relatively small areas such as ports or air bases; THAADdefends a larger area; the advanced Aegis system theoretically could defend thousands of square kilometers.

But could we intercept before the missile climbed that high? There is almost no chance of hitting a North Korean missile on its way up unless an Aegis ship was deployed very close to the launch point, perhaps in North Korean waters. Even then, it would have to chase the missile, a race it is unlikely to win. In the only one or two minutes of warning time any system would have, the probability of a successful engagement drops close to zero.

“When over Japan, they are too high to reach,” tweeted astronomer Jonathan McDowell, in between tracking the end of the Cassini mission. “You’d have to put the Aegis right off NKcoast to have a chance.”

“It’s actually virtually impossible to shoot down a missile on the way up,” adds Gerry Doyle, deputy business editor for Asia at The New York Times.Midcourse or terminal are the only places you have a shot.” That would mean for a test missile shot towards Guam, THAAD would have a chance to engage, though it has only been tested once against a missile of this range. For the test flights over Japan that would mean the only engagements possible are to the east of Japan, when the missile was on its way down. But there is little reason and huge logistical difficulties in having U.S. Aegis destroyers and cruisers loiter in the ocean there, waiting for a possible test launch.

Related: Why Didn’t the US Shoot Down That North Korean Missile?
Related: The Technology Race to Build — or Stop — North Korea’s Nuclear Missiles


Trying to use missiles from Aegis ships “would be a highly demanding task and entail a significant amount of guesswork, as the ships would have to be in the right place at the right time to stop a test at sea,” explains Kingston Reif of the Arms Control Association. And that is if the systems worked as advertised. None of the theater systems have been tested under the stressful conditions of a real-world exchange. THAAD, Patriot and especially Aegis, have done fairly well in tests, but these have been tests designed for success, simplified, carefully staged and using mostly short-range targets. Aegis has only been tested once against an intermediate-range target says Reif, one of the leading experts on U.S. missile defense programs.

What about our long-range defenses, the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense, or GMD, interceptors based in Alaska and California? There the test record is even worse. Even under ideal conditions, where the defenders knew the time, direction and trajectory of the test target and all the details of its shape, temperature, etc., this system has only hit its target half of the time.

“The success rate of the GMD systems in flight intercept tests has been dismal,” says former director of operational testing for the Pentagon, Philip Coyle. Our chances of intercepting a threat missile, even under ideal conditions, are basically “as good as a coin toss,” admits the former head of the Missile Defense Agency, retired Lt. Gen. Trey Obering.

Yet, reporters routinely use words like “shield” and “dome” to describe our supposed capability, giving us a false sense of security. Officials make the matter worse with exaggerated, if carefully constructed, claims. “The United States military can defend against a limited North Korea attack on Seoul, Japan and the United States,” said Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General Joseph Dunford at the annual Aspen Security Forum in July.

Is this true? It depends what you mean by the word “limited.”

If North Korea cooperated and shot their new intercontinental ballistic missile, the Hwasong-14, at the United States with adequate warning so that we could prepare, and if the warhead looked pretty much like we expect it to look, and if they only shot one, and if they did not try to spoof the defense with decoys that looked like the warhead, or block the defense with low-power jammers, or hide the warhead in a cloud of chaff, or blind the defense by attacking the vulnerable radars, then, maybe this is true. The United States might have a 50-50 chance of hitting such a missile. If we had time to fire four or five interceptors, then the odds could go up.

But North Korea is unlikely to cooperate. It will do everything possible to suppress the defenses. The 1999 National Intelligence Estimate of the Ballistic Threat to the United States noted that any country capable of testing a long-range ballistic missile would “rely initially on readily available technology – including separating RVs [reentry vehicles], spin-stabilized RVs, RV reorientation, radar absorbing material, booster fragmentation, low-power jammers, chaff, and simple (balloon) decoys – to develop penetration aids and countermeasures.”

Our anti-missile systems have never been realistically tested against any of these simple countermeasures. This is one reason that the Pentagon’s current director of operational testing is much more cautious in his assessments than missile defense program officials. “GMD has demonstrate a limited capability to defend the U.S. Homeland from small numbers of simple intermediate-range or intercontinental ballistic missile threats launched from North Korea or Iran,” he reports. Moreover, it is impossible, he says, to “quantitatively assess GMD performance due to lack of ground tests” and “the reliability and availability of the operational GBI’s [Ground-Based Interceptors] is low, and the MDA continues to discover new failure modes during testing.”

Yet, we have spent $40 billion on the GMD system and over $320 billion on scores of missile defense systems over the past few decades. You have to wonder exactly what these tests are for: give the troops the protection they need or give the contractors the next program payment?

There is no need to rely on the word of missile defense boosters, or, for that matter, trust the analysis of jaded missile defense critics. We could stop testing for success and begin testing for actual performance, with “red team – blue team” tests, for example, to simulate a determined foe. We could also order an objective scientific assessment. For example, the American Physical Society could conduct a thorough examination of the feasibility and capability of kinetic missile defense weapons, just as they did for directed-energy weapons in 1987. That study popped the balloon of false claims about these weapons, the original basis for the “Star Wars” program begun by the Reagan administration, concluding that it would be decades before we would know if such weapons were even feasible.

North Korea’s ballistic missile threat is real. We need to know if our missile defenses are for real.
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Put it here, since there is no dedicated thread covering the south Korean space program (and me am not going to open a new one if not made a sticky one)...


KSLV-II TLV Vs Unha-9

A first launch for the new Unha-9 seems imminent, as South Korea's KARI also just announced the first test launch of its pilot launcher, south Korean equivalent of the Hwasong-12/14, the two stages KSLV-II TLV with a diameter of 2.6 meters and total length of 26 meters, and powered by a single-chamber 75 ton-force engine for October 2018.
The next south Korean launcher, the KSLV-2-III to be launched no earlier than December 2019 will be powered by four 75 ton-force engines, developping a liftoff thrust of 300 ton-force similar to the Unha-9, powered by four 80 ton-force Paektusan-1 engines.

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https://defence.pk/pdf/attachments/...1/?temp_hash=a25d39e6c54acf21f5ab8e91181537b6
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https://twitter.com/kari2030/status/965737921843113984

2018.02.18

The first test launch of the Korean launch vehicle, which was originally developed after the launch of the Naro LV, is scheduled for October this year.

The lower part of the rocket with the moving gimballed engine was assembled with the first stage.

Inside the rocket, every electronic equipments have also been connected.

The rocket is 2.6 meters in diameter and 26 meters in length.

This completes the assembly of the first test LV with the 75-ton thrust engine.

The rocket, which has been assembled, is standing up for the ground static test, and it will be the first test launched in October.

We are developing the next South Korean launch vehicle, with a first stage thrust of 300 tons.

http://news.kbs.co.kr/news/view.do?ncd=3607352&ref=D
▲ South Korea pilot launcher KSLV-II TLV. 19 Feb 2018



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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBuwF2kHgwY
▲ KSLV-II TLV undergoing ground static tests. Published on Mar 27, 2018

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDgh2fizzMo
▲ More static tests of the 75ton-force engine. Published on Mar 29, 2018

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAVvPr_n6Tc
▲ KSLV-II TLV undergoing payload fairings (with a diameter of 2.6 meters) separation tests. Published on Mar 29, 2018

All seems going smoothly as scheduled, and God speed for this October! (Unha-9 Vs KSLV-II TLV)
:yay::dance3::laugh::lol::enjoy::cool::woot::p:8-)


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Any ideas or proposals for the reunification of Korea?

This is as old as the Cold War itself:


"

Policies for Korea’s Reunification

Kim Jong Il made public a work, titled, Let Us Carry Out the Great Comrade Kim Il Sung’s Instructions for National Reunification, on August 4, 1997.

In the work he defined the three principles of independence, peaceful reunification and great national unity, the 10-point programme of the great unity of the whole nation and the plan for founding the Democratic Federal Republic of Koryo as the three charters for national reunification.

Three Principles of National Reunification

In May 1972, President Kim Il Sung received in Pyongyang the south Korean delegates to the high-level political talks between north and south Korea.

In his talks with them, he said: “The three principles of realizing independent reunification without outside interference, achieving great national unity by transcending differences in ideas, ideals and systems, and reunifying the divided land by peaceful means without recourse to armed force, are the starting point of and the basis for the solution of our reunification question.”

Plan for the Founding of the Democratic Federal Republic of Koryo

President Kim Il Sung advanced a plan for founding the Democratic Federal Republic of Koryo at the Sixth Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea in October 1980.

He stated that the most realistic and reasonable way to reunify the country independently, peacefully and on the principle of great national unity was to found a federal republic through the establishment of a unified national government on condition that the north and the south recognize and tolerate each other’s ideas and social system, a government in which the two sides are represented on an equal footing and under which they exercise regional autonomy respectively with equal rights and duties.

He recommended that in the unified state of a federal type a supreme national federal assembly should be formed with an equal number of representatives from north and south and an appropriate number of representatives of overseas nationals and that this assembly should organize a federal standing committee to guide the regional governments of the north and south and to administer all affairs of the federal state.

He added that it would be a good idea to call the federal state the Democratic Federal Republic of Koryo, after a unified state that once existed in Korea and is well known to the world, and that such a name would also serve to reflect the common political aspirations of the north and south for democracy.

The DFRK should be a neutral country which does not participate in any political, military alliance or bloc. As a unified state, embracing the whole of the territory and people of the country, it should pursue a policy which agrees with the fundamental interests and demands of the entire Korean people.

10-Point Programme of the Great Unity of the Whole Nation for the Reunification of the Country

On April 6, 1993 President Kim Il Sung published the 10-Point Programme of the Great Unity of the Whole Nation for the Reunification of the Country at the Fifth Session of the Ninth Supreme People’s Assembly. It is as follows:

1. A unified state, independent, peaceful and neutral, should be founded through the great unity of the whole nation.

2. Unity should be based on patriotism and the spirit of national independence.

3. Unity should be achieved on the principle of promoting co-existence, co-prosperity and common interests and subordinating everything to the cause of national reunification.

4. All political disputes that foment division and confrontation between fellow countrymen should be ended and unity should be achieved.

5. The fear of invasion from both south and north, and the ideas of prevailing over communism and communization should be dispelled, and north and south should believe in each other and unite.

6. The north and south should value democracy and join hands on the road to national reunification, without rejecting each other because of differences in ideals and principles.

7. The north and south should protect the material and spiritual wealth of individuals and organizations and encourage their use for the promotion of great national unity.

8. Understanding, trust and unity should be built up across the nation through contact, exchange visits and dialogue.

9. The whole nation, north, south and overseas, should strengthen its solidarity for the sake of national reunification.

10. Those who have contributed to the great unity of the nation and to the cause of national reunification should be honoured.

* * *

Kim Jong Il made public a work, titled, Let Us Reunify the Country Independently and Peacefully Through the Great Unity of the Entire Nation, on April 18, 1998.

In the work he advanced the five-point policy for the great national unity: great national unity must be based thoroughly on the principle of national independence; the entire nation must unite under the banner of patriotism, the banner of national reunification; the north and the south must improve their relations; the north and the south must reject domination and interference of the foreign force and fight against the traitors to the nation, the anti-reunification forces, who are in collusion with the foreign forces; and all the Koreans in the north, south and abroad must visit one another, hold contacts, promote dialogue and strengthen solidarity. This is a development of President Kim Il Sung’s idea on great national unity as required by the developing realities.


http://www.naenara.com.kp/en/politics/?unification+1

,,
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North Korea proposed creating neutral state in 1987: declassified dossier

2018/03/3

In the late 1980s, North Korea proposed creating a neutral state on the Korean Peninsula that could serve as a buffer zone in the region, declassified diplomatic documents showed Friday.

Then Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev delivered North Korea 's secret proposal to then U.S. President Ronald Reagan during their summit in Washington on Dec. 9, 1987, according to the documents disclosed by the foreign ministry.

Under the plan, North Korea wanted to create a federation-style republic consisting of two different governments representing the two Koreas and declare it as a neutral state that could serve as a regional buffer zone, the documents said.

North Korea also called for the two Koreas to sign a nonaggression treaty and replace the current armistice with a peace treaty, while suggesting the new entity would join the United Nations under a single name.

In addition, Pyongyang sought to scrap all agreements or treaties reached with third parties deemed to be running counter to their pursuit of reunification, a demand interpreted as a way to put pressure on Seoul to walk away from its mutual defense treaty with the U.S.

North Korea suggested the two Koreas reduce the number of their respective troops to fewer than 100,000 as a step toward building a peace mood and called for the withdrawal of any nuclear weapons and foreign troops from the peninsula, apparently targeting U.S. troops stationed in South Korea.

The North's proposals decades ago are catching attention at a time when the two Koreas are poised to have what will be their third inter-Korean summit in late April to discuss ways to improve their bilateral relations long frayed by North Korea's continued missile and nuclear tests.

The two Koreas technically remain in a state of war as the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce, not in a peace treaty.

According to a wire sent from the then South Korean ambassador to Seoul's headquarters dated Dec. 14, 1987, Gorbachev asked Colin Powell, Reagan's security adviser, whether he reviewed the North Korea's proposals. Powell said he would review them soon and expressed hope for the issue to remain secret, the document stated.

Washington later said that is a matter that South Korea should deal with, calling the proposals unrealistic unless North Korea shows a willingness to establish trust.

It also mentioned the resumption of inter-Korean talks as a precondition for paving the way for peaceful coexistence of the two Koreas on the peninsula, calling for both Washington and Moscow to take mutually balanced measures to ease tensions in the region, the documents said.


http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/northkorea/2018/03/29/0401000000AEN20180329006200315.html
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[KARI] South Korean launch vehicle engine CG

A CGI video of the South Korean launch vehicle engine that can be examined in detail.
The configuration of the liquid engine used in the South Korean launch vehicle is displayed including the ignition phase.

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[KARI] 한국형발사체 엔진 CG
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYG93PV9fHg
▲ South Korean KSLV-2-III launch vehicle engine CG. Published on Jul 3, 2016

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Seems work on KAI's KF-X project is coming along (courtesy of Google Translate):

"Korea Aerospace Industries is the final model of the next Korean fighter (KF-X) which was revealed to the experts through the Korea Military Technology Society seminar held recently in Jeju Island. All of the development teams completed seven model development processes to produce the final model C109. The end of the wind tunnel test and the final model means that the internal design has been completed. / Photo provided by Dipants Times Korea

The Korean fighter aircraft (KF-X) development project will be in full swing and the final shape of the aircraft will be revealed at the end of this month.

The Defense Agency and Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) will release the KF-X final model and AESA radar tentative on 29th. The design type name of the KF-X final model is C-109. The development team is known to have completed the design of the final model C 109 in two and a half years by conducting a wind tunnel test based on the basic data handed down from the Defense Science Research Institute (ADD) and producing a new model every six months.

The fact that the final model has been completed means that not only has the wind speed laboratory tested the maximum speed of the gas and the stability of the gas in each flight environment, but also that the internal design has been completed. The C109 exterior identification point, which was recently presented at the Korea Military Technology Society Seminar held in Jeju Island, is the addition of the Active Pia Identification Device (AIFF) near the refueling station just before the pilot's seat. It is interpreted as a signal that specific functions have begun to be installed. KF-X development has been proceeding somewhat faster than expected, even in difficult conditions such as rejection of core technology transfer by US and disagreement inside Indonesia which is a joint development partner.

The airframe is larger than the original design and the weight is increased. = When the development team first started to design the basic shape, the model was C103. The National Defense Science Institute was a gas designed by detailed simulation at the stage of exploration and development and was designed by computer simulation without actual modeling or wind tunnel test. From ADD, the development team, which received three basic drawings, including C103 and C104, made a direct reduction model from the C105 experimental gas and entered the wind tunnel test. After the test, the size of the airframe increased and the total take-off weight increased.

From the third wind tunnel test model C107, the length of the gas was increased by about 1 m from the initial design. The take-off weight of the final model C109 after wind tunnel test is 25,855 kg. It is more than a medium-sized fighter, not alittle over 20,000 kg, which was mentioned at the beginning of development. The F-18A / B Hornet has a maximum take-off weight of 24,000 kg and the F-18E / F Super Hornet is twenty-nine thousand kilograms.

There is no bad reputation for giving up the miniaturization because there is no technology, but it is expected to show its ability as a multi-purpose fighter capable of performing various functions such as air-to-air, air-to-ground, and engineering. It is rated at least two steps ahead of the Air Force's current flagship F-16 fighter. Stealth capabilities and AESA radar's ability to function can increase your attack power even further.

Hidden meaning of the completion of the final model = The test made in the large wind tunnel laboratory by making the miniature model test the maximum speed, the gas stability and motility at high speed and low speed, the thrust receiving the main wing and the tail wing according to the shape. This experiment determined the position of the engine and the shape of the inside and outside of the air intake. In the wind tunnel tests of each model, the detail changes were numerous, but the development team changed into the five-scale reduction model and produced the final model. An official from the development team said, "Basically, all internal and external designs including radar, avionics and engines, as well as various armed mounts, have been completed in the first place."

Remaining Schedule = Even if the final model came out, the wind tunnel experiment will continue. "A wind tunnel experimentfrom now on is another dimension," an official from the Korea-based fighter business development team said. "We will accumulate various data necessary for actual flight and use it for automatic computer control." The first AESA radar to be completed and the integration of various aviation equipment is also in the track. Even though the basic design is over, this game is starting now. Indonesia, which was uncertain as to whether it would continue to do business, has recently reaffirmed its principle that a joint development project with Korea is needed at the Cabinet meeting. Indonesia is participating in joint development by investing 20% ??of total project cost and purchasing 60 units. The development team will begin detailed design (CDR) work from the second half as soon as possible. It is several months earlier than the original schedule. KF-X is scheduled for release in 2021 and the first flight in 2022."

(There's a link, but seems there was an error for posting it)

Also indigenous ASEA (Jane's 360):

"South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) has signalled progression in its programme to develop an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar system in collaboration with local industry.

DAPA said in a statement on 31 May that its radar programme – intended to support the Korean Fighter Experimental (KFX) aircraft – has completed a two-year preliminary design phase and will now move to the critical design stage before a design review in May 2019.

Following the design review, DAPA hopes to produce a pilot prototype in 2020, which will be installed on early prototypes of the KFX from 2022. After several years of trials, DAPA aims to start initial production of both the aircraft and its AESA radar from the mid-2020s.

Under a KRW360 billion (USD334 million) contract awarded in mid-2016, the AESA development programme is led by Hanwha Systems, which is collaborating with the Agency for Defense Development (ADD), a DAPA subsidiary. Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), as lead developer of the KFX, is also involved in the programme.

KAI has previously outlined a target to produce about 250 twin-engine KFX fighter aircraft to replace the Republic of Korea Air Force’s (RoKAF’s) F-4E Phantom and F-5E Tiger II aircraft and, ultimately, its F-16 Fighting Falcon platforms. KAI also expects to export several hundred KFX fighters."
 
S. Korea making progress in advanced radar development for fighters
Published on Jul 13, 2017


South Korea's military has unveiled the prototype of a new radar that will be used in the nation's indigenous fighter jet -- the KF-X.

Developers are confident the radar will be fully developed by 2022.

This is a prototype of the AESA radar.

The radar is considered the eyes and ears of a fighter jet and the AESA is one of four key components used in the development of South Korea's indigenous fighter jet project known as the KF-X.

Anybody know what semiconductor material in use for the RF amplifier of this radar? (GaN or GaAs)? :unsure:
 
Wreck of Russian Armored Cruiser Dmitrii Donskoi Discovered


Russian 'treasure ship' that sank 113 years ago found off South Korean island [PHOTOS]

July 19, 2018 09:53

A Russian battleship that sank 113 years ago in waters off South Korea's Ulleung Island ― allegedly carrying tons of gold coins and bars ― has been located.

The rusty hull of the Dmitri Donskoii was found on the seabed a kilometer from the island's Jeodong-ri and 434 meters underwater, said Shinil Group, a South Korean company which has endeavored to find the ship for years.

"We found the body of the Dmitrii Donskoi 434 meters deep in seas 1.3 kilometers off Ulleung Island at around 9:50 a.m., Sunday," Shinil Group said.

The vessel's shape and details were "confirmed to be identical with the Dmitri Donskoii," the company said. It inspected the wreckage with two manned submarines on Saturday.

At the time of discovery, the bow of the ship was 430 meters deep, with its stern heading toward the surface 380 meters deep.

"The body of the ship was severely damaged by shelling, with its stern almost broken, and yet the ship's deck and sides are well preserved," the company said.

The Russian military reportedly used the battleship during the Russia-Japan war in the early 1900s. It sank in 1905.

Rumors have it that the ship went down with 5,500 boxes of gold coins and bars that would now be worth 150 trillion won ($133.4 billion). It's unknown if the precious metal is in the wreckage.

"We are working to lift the wreckage," a Shinil official said. "We will also take a step to clear legal issues with respect to ownership of the wreckage."

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JsXIlGyicQ
▲ Russian ship 'Dmitri Donskoii' discovered in waters off Korea's Ulleung-do Island after 113 years. Published on Jul 17, 2018


https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2018/07/281_252402.html


'Treasure ship' claim raises eyebrows in South Korea

July 19, 2018

SEOUL (Reuters) - A South Korean company’s claims that it has discovered the wreck of a Russian warship containing $130 billion in gold “treasure” off South Korea has been met with scepticism from researchers and regulators in Seoul.

Shinil Group, which was established last month, said on Tuesday it had discovered the wreck of the Dmitrii Donskoi, a Russian armored cruiser built in the 1880s and sunk in 1905 after battling Japanese warships.

The company said the ship held 150 trillion won ($130 billion) in gold and it would provide evidence next week to support its claim. It was the “only entity in the world” to have discovered the ship, it said in a statement.

The release was accompanied by photos and video of a wreck, including a section that appeared to show the ship’s name. It said the search team included experts from Britain, Canada and South Korea.

“We believe there are gold boxes, and it’s historically proven,” company spokesman Park Sung-jin told Reuters. “The boxes were very tightly lashed, indicating there are really precious stuff inside.”

The announcement though was disputed by the government-run Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology (KIOST), which told South Korean media that it discovered the wreck in 2003.

The institute did not respond to a request for comment, but its website showed photos dated from 2007 of what it said was the wreck, along with maps of its general location.

A South Korean construction company has also laid claim to being the first to discover the Russian warship, South Korean media said.

Some academics have cast doubt on past reports that the ship is laden with treasure. South Korean financial regulators also cautioned against investing in treasure hunting ventures.

Shinil Group’s Park said KIOST’s claim to have found the wreck was “fraudulent” and that the existence of gold is backed up by historical records.

He said the company will unveil details about what it has found in the boxes at a press conference next week, and it plans to contract a Chinese salvage company to recover the wreck.

Adding further confusion, Park said a website under Shinil Group’s name and including its contact information was not affiliated with the group.

The website described a newly launched “Donskoi International” crypto currency exchange as linked to the find. The website said it would “share profits” from the Russian wreck with the public by handing out its virtual currency to anyone who signed up to use the exchange. It promised additional coins to those who helped sign up others.

Park said Shinil Group’s intention was to donate 10 percent of the treasure to South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s job creation efforts, as well as to inter-Korean development projects with North Korea.

South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Services on Wednesday warned against “overheated” investment.

“Investors need to be cautious as it’s possible they could suffer massive losses if they bank on rumors without concrete facts regarding the recovery of a treasure ship,” the regulator said in a statement.

A spokesperson for South Korea’s Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said ownership of a wreck would be determined after consultation by a number of agencies, including the coast guard and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and would require a monetary deposit by the company.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it had not discussed the issue with Moscow.

Yevgeny Zhuravlev, head of Vladivostok’s military history museum on the Pacific Fleet, said under international maritime law the cruiser belongs to Russia.

“A war vessel is the territory of the state whose flag it bears regardless of the waters it is in. This status does not change even after it sinks. Any works on board the newly discovered Dmitry Donskoy should be agreed with the Russian side,” he said.

He expressed scepticism that there was a large batch of gold on board, saying there would have been no point in risking transporting valuable cargo by sea with war with Japan looming on the horizon.

“It was obvious war with the Japanese fleet was inevitable. If it was necessary to deliver a batch of gold to Vladivostok, then it was much safer to do it by land.”


https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...-raises-eyebrows-in-south-korea-idUSKBN1K91OM

On This Day In History: Battle of Tsushima Was Fought- On May 27, 1905

May 27, 2016

On May 27, 1905, the Battle of Tsushima known as the “Sea of Japan Naval Battle” took place and was the major battle between Russia and Japan during the Russo-Japanese War (1904 – 1905).

This was naval history's only significant sea battle fought by modern steel battleship fleets, the first naval battle, in which wireless telegraphy (radio) played a critically important role, it has been characterized as the "dying echo of the old era – for the last time in the history of naval warfare ships of the line of a beaten fleet surrendered on the high seas."

The battle was localized in the Tsushima Strait between Korea and southern Japan. In this battle the Japanese fleet under Admiral Togo Heihachiro destroyed two-thirds of the Russian fleet, under Admiral Zinovy Rozhestvensky, which had traveled over 18,000 nautical miles (33,000 km) to reach the Far East.

"The battle of Tsu-shima is by far the greatest and the most important naval event since Trafalgar", Sir George Sydenham Clarke, a British Army officer and colonial administrator, wrote in London in 1906.

Both sides participating in the battle, had early wireless telegraphy, the Russians were using German sets; however, they had difficulties in using and maintain them. The Japanese, on the other hand, used their own equipment and it was their advantage.

Several decades later, historian Edmund Morris agreed with this opinion. The destruction of the Russian navy caused a bitter reaction from the Russian public, which induced a peace treaty in September 1905 without any further battles.



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▲ Battle of Tsushima


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▲ Battle of Tsushima


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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ink4S1adrhw
▲ [World of Warships] Naval Legends: Battle of Tsushima. Published on Jul 17, 2015

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▲ [World of Warships] Naval Legends: Battle of Tsushima. Screen capture of Battle result. Published on Jul 17, 2015

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Milestone: Pre-WWI Nipponese neuroscience research

Japanese ophthalmologist Tatsuji Inouye who created the first relatively accurate map of the primary visual cortex; the map was based on his correlational observations of visual field defects following penetrating injuries to the occipital cortex during the Russo-Japanese war of 1904.

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▲ Japanese ophthalmologist Tatsuji Inouye created the first relatively accurate map of the primary visual cortex.

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▲ Die Sehstoerungen bei Schussverletzungen der kortikalen Sehsphaere, von Dr. Tatsuji Inouye aus Tokyo, 1909.

Mapping the Visual Cortex

The first steps in the mapping of the visual cortex came about through the tragic circumstances of war. In the Russo-Japanese War of 1905, many Japanese soldiers sustained bullet wounds that penetrated through the posterior part of their brains. Because of the higher muzzle velocity and the smaller bullet size of rifles developed in the late nineteenth century, these weapons tended to produce more localized brain injuries than were inflicted in earlier wars, and improved care of the wounded also resulted in higher rates of survival. Many of the wounded soldiers were partially blinded by these injuries, and Tatsuji Inouye, an ophthalmologist, was asked by the Japanese government to evaluate the extent of their blindness as a means to determine their pension benefits. Inouye found that the parts of the visual field in which these soldiers were blind corresponded to the locations of their brain injuries as determined by the sites of the bullet's entry and exit through the head.
By combining the visual field deficits from different soldiers he was able to deduce the topographic organization of the primary visual cortex. Inouye's map revealed that much more cortex was devoted to the representation of the central part of the retina than to the periphery. This is the portion of the retina with the highest acuity, and it is our most important means for probing our environment for information, and the part you are using to read this book. Inouye's map of the primary visual cortex has been confirmed by modern brain-imaging techniques.

http://www.sciencecore.columbia.edu/demo/web/resources/readings/cortex.pdf
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct...bOvwz5RIxm_bw5Yk3I0JyQ&bvm=bv.119745492,d.bGg
 

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(Courtesy of Google Translate)
[KFX-X] Fifth generation fighter ... Stealthy road opens up possibility of evolution

<44> After completion of the basic design, the
final shape of the Korean fighter business fighter project team
appearance similar to the F-22 raptor seems to be similar to the Raptor,
but the
AESA radar and navigation device have
more excellent performance than expected
1S0ZX8CNSD_1.jpg


lg.php

The Korean fighter (KF-X) business has crossed the first gate. The basic design is finished. Although the detailed design procedure for about 14 months has been left, the overall outline is actually confirmed. As the Defense Agency announced on December 29, the basic framework of the KF-X project was completed. The final shape released by the Korean-style fighter group shows distinctive features. It is not a stealth aircraft that I expected from the first place, but it seems to have a performance that surpasses that of the F-16 fighter. In particular, if not for the time being, the time has passed and technology development has progressed, leaving room for evolution to stealth. ◇ It looks like the F-22 Raptor ... The code number of the final shape proposed by the Agency is C 109. The C 101, C 201 (triangular wing and cannon attachment type), C 102, C 103, proposed from 2004 when the possibility was examined, The C104, C106, C107, and C108, which have been fully reflected in the C104 and wind tunnel tests, have all combined the advantages of all the designs so far. As the experiment was repeated, the shape of KF-X was greatly changed and two characteristics were observed. First, the size.The length of the fuselage was at least 1 m longer than when it was first conceived. The engine has also returned from twin to twin. The second is design. More and more American fighters are becoming similar. Some F-22 Raptor fighters are similar in appearance to the US Air Force's prized and operated fighters, and some people call themselves "Baby Raptors." But performance is not. It is expected that stronger fighter planes will come out than originally planned due to the high level of demand of the Air Force, but the comparison with the Raptor is impossible.

◇ Fifth-generation stealth, not the 4.5th generation fighter = one of the clean (unarmed) state Stealth performance of the F-35 will be expected, but the reality is different. Above all, the protruding part in the final shape is noticeable. The first thing that comes to your attention is the Active Pia Identifier (AIFF) in front of the cockpit. It is similar in appearance to the IFA, which is installed in front of the cockpit of the KF-16. An infrared detection and tracking device (IRST) protrudes immediately behind the pie identification device. IRST is an infrared tracking device that detects and detects infrared rays emitted by enemy aircraft or missiles. It is difficult to know whether or not the opponent uses the IRST of the fighter. In air-to-air combat, the bandit greatly increases survivability by detecting infrared signals when it tries to launch a missile.

The disturbing antenna attached to the vertical tail wing is also protruding. Moreover, the electronic pod ran externally just below the fuselage. Armament is also externally mounted. Although the size of the aircraft was larger than that of the originally proposed armed forces, four air-to-air missiles were half-landed. If there are many sharp or protruding parts, the possibility of being caught on enemy detection radar is increased as much. Fifth-generation stealth fighters, such as the F-22 and F-35, integrated all of these devices with the fuselage and put the weapon inside to reduce the area of the attack.

An official of the development team said, "There is space to make space for internal armed windows and change all avionics equipment to conformal type." "Now we are developing and integrating each technology into the field of making the first full-scale fighter aircraft." . In order for the KF-X to have a stealth function, it must wait until the block 2, or block 3, is produced. However, no one can guarantee that we will be able to go to Block 2 and Block 3 at any time. The level of technology is also a matter of concern, but it has not been discussed at all in the mid to long term.

◇ Performance of AESA radar is expected to be higher than expected. It is said that development of various kinds of equipment including AESA radar, which started from suspicion, is underway. The AESA radar is not based on the whole foreign technology, but it is developed by the domestic engineers in cooperation with the technology of Israel and Sweden, and it performs a comprehensive performance test such as air-to-air, air-to-ground, and engineering. The number of modules that determine the performance of the AESA radar is not far behind that of the latest radars overseas. "The number of modules in block 1 is 1,024," said a development team official. This is similar to the latest AESA radar to be installed, as the F-16 fighter aircraft operated by the ROKAF is converted to the F-16V format. Given the latest radar, navigation, and increased take-off weight, the KF-X is expected to surpass the F-16's performance. Compared with the time when the idea of developing a single-shot machine based on the T-50 advanced trainer was used as a base, it was a sky and a land. It means that the demands of the military and the air force were so high and high. The problem is that there are a lot of hurricanes left. Even though the joint development project with Indonesia is released properly, considering that it is not the design period but the production and test flight, it is a little more than a small stream because the problem is usually revealed when developing a new type. ■ The end of the basic design means that the basic performance required by the army is confirmed Final design in September next year ... Designed for the first prototype in 2021

A basic design review (PDR) is a procedure that confirms whether the system requirements and system functional requirements required by the military can be reflected in the high-level design. The Defense Agency has held a basic design review meeting for development of the KF-X system from March 26 to 28, and confirmed that all the basic performance required by the military, including the fighter plane, was reflected. In January, 2016, KF-X started development work, and in March of that year, it reviewed the system requirements review (SRR), and in December it completed the system function review (SFR). At the PDR meeting, the review committee composed of the Air Force, civilian experts and Indonesian officials confirmed that the requirements of the Air Force were appropriately reflected in 230 technical data, including the KF-X system specification.

Upon completion of the basic design process, the KF-X business has entered the 'detailed design (CDR)' phase, which produces the actual designs to build fighter jets. "We plan to complete the detailed design by September 2019 through thorough business management and to start production of the prototype without any problem," said Chung Kwang-sung, head of the Korean fighter business group. As soon as possible, it will start production of KF-X from next October. The first goal of the tentative release of Tense 1 is in the first half of 2021. In the second half of 2022, the first flight test will be completed and the development will be completed by 2026.

출처 : http://www.sedaily.com/NewsView/1S0ZX8CNSD
 
South Korea plans to locally develop missile for homemade future jet
By: Jeff Jeong   July 10
to be equipped with the KF-X fighteraircraft under development, according to defense officials.

The Agency for Defense Development, or ADD, under the wing of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, is scheduled to pick a local partner company no later than September for exploratory development of the missile, modeled after the Taurus KEPD 350, manufactured by the German-Swedish firm Taurus Systems.

“As part of offset deals to buy Taurus missiles for the past years, South Korea received some part of the Taurus KEPD 350 technologies,” an ADD official said, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the missile program.

“Based on the transferred Taurus technology, we’ll develop our own air-to-ground, long-range missile to be integrated into the KF-X fighter jet, which is expected to be operational by 2026.”

At least 120 KF-X jets are to be produced after 2026 to replace the aging fleet of F-4s and F-5s. At least 50 units are to be manufactured in Indonesia, the sole KF-X partner obliged to burden 20 percent of the development costs for the 4.5-generation KF-X jet.

Hanwha Corporation and LIG Nex1 are competing for the air-to-air missile project worth some $730 million. Both companies have unveiled the concept designs of their 3,000-pound Taurus-class missile with a range of 400 kilometers.

“We have long and successful track records of developing indigenous cruise missiles with guidance systems, including ship-launched Haeseong-series cruise missiles,” an LIG Nex1 official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “We’ve accumulated enough know-how and technology to develop an air-launched cruise missile.”

Hanwha, which has merged multiple defense companies to become South Korea’s largest defense manufacturer, showed confident about the missile competition.

“It’s true we’re the second mover in the guided-missile field, but we’ve made substantial progress in developing precision-striking missiles with the concentration of budgets and human resources,” a Hanwha public affairs official said.

Ahn Seung-beom, military analyst and publisher of The Defense Times in South Korea, said the air-launched missile project marks South Korea’s first-ever effort of its kind.



“This is the first meaningful step forward developing South Korea’s own air-launched missiles, which were largely imported from U.S. and European nations,” Ahn said. “Beginning this air-to-ground missile development program, more air-launched missile projects are to begin.”

He referred to efforts to modify the Shingung short-range, surface-to-air missile into an air-to-air missile modeled after Raytheon’s AIM-9X, and plans to develop the ship-to-air Haegung missile into a long-range, air-to-ground one as potential projects to be materialized. Both Shingung and Haegung missiles were co-developed by ADD and LIG Nex1.

On June 29, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration unveiled the preliminary design of the KF-X. The design, code-named C-109, revealed the KF-X would be armed with European air-to-air missile systems.

In the disclosed photos of the KF-X design, four Meteor long-range, air-to-air missiles developed by MBDA are shown to be nestled under the fuselage, while two IRIS-T short-range, guided, air-to-air missiles are mounted on respective wingtip launchers.

The arms procurement agency originally preferred fitting the KF-X aircraft with U.S. weapons systems, such as Raytheon-built AIM-120 and AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles, but the U.S. government has yet to approve the export license of the missiles.



Email: jeff@defensenews.com

https://www.defensenews.com/industr...ally-develop-missile-for-homemade-future-jet/
 
Trump asks South Korea to double its share of US military spending in South Korea
Global network 2018-12-10 10:20
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Data map (Photo: Yonhap)

[Global Network Report reporter Li Huiling] Han Meixin's round of negotiations on the sharing of defense fees is about to be held, and the US media has revealed that Trump wants to double the cost of Korea's share. A number of media outlets in South Korea reported this content on the 10th with the Wall Street Journal as a source, and believed that this was putting pressure on South Korea on the eve of the negotiations.

The East Asia Daily quoted the Wall Street Journal as saying that US President Trump wanted to double the cost of garrison troops in South Korea. Trump said that South Korea should increase its military garrison and pay $1.6 billion a year for five years. Another source said that the US government is now pressing to increase the defense share of South Korea by 1.5 times.
Trump asks South Korea to double its share of US military spending in South Korea

The Central Daily News quoted the Wall Street Journal as saying that the US government is pushing for a 1.5-fold increase in South Korea’s share of the contribution, although it is lower than the amount requested by Trump, but it is still a very high rate of increase. The South Korean side has shown an unacceptable tough stance on the substantial increase in the contribution. South Korean President Wen Zai has already conveyed to South Korean officials "the intention of not sharing more than the agreed standards." In addition, representatives of the five parties, including the ruling party, have already conveyed to Wen’s position that Congress does not accept the increase.

South Korea's "Central Daily News" reported that the current military expenditure shared by South Korea is 830 million US dollars, up to 1.6 billion, in fact, equivalent to asking South Korea to share the full cost of 28,500 US troops stationed in South Korea. The South Korean-US negotiations are imminent, and this is considered a "naked" pressure. The East Asia Daily reported that some analysts believe that the White House is currently conducting a public opinion campaign to create a public opinion atmosphere that will increase South Korea's share of costs.

The tenth round of negotiations between South Korea and the United States to sign the 10th Defense Sharing Agreement will be held in Seoul on 11-13. The South Korean side believes that the current ninth agreement will expire at the end of the year. In view of the outcome of the negotiations, it will be approved by the National Assembly. If all the procedures are to be completed within the year, a final agreement will be reached in this round of negotiations. The South Korean Foreign Ministry’s Han-American defense fee sharing negotiator Zhang Yuansan and the US State Department’s defense fee sharing negotiator Timothy Bates will lead a delegation.

The previous round of negotiations was held in Hawaii on November 13-16, local time. Although the ROK and the United States made some progress on the main issues such as the total cost of the garrison, they failed to reach a final agreement. The US has always asked the ROK to share the cost of deploying US strategic weapons in South Korea, and the ROK insists on negating its position. Yonhap said that it is the key to finding an intersection between the two sides on the total amount of defense fees, the period of validity, and the annual increase.

The defense fee sharing refers to the garrison expenses shared by the Korean side for the US military. It is used for the labor expenses of the Korean troops stationed in the ROK, the construction costs of various US military bases, and the military logistics costs. This year, the total share of the Korean side is about 960.2 billion won (about 5.9 billion yuan). Since 1991, Hanmei has signed 9 defense fee sharing agreements. The 9th agreement will expire on December 31 this year. Therefore, both parties need to reach an agreement on the 10th agreement.
http://mil.huanqiu.com/world/2018-12/13765704.html
 

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