Cloned and Original Global Hawk, Reaper Drones Set for Showdown in Korean Skies

(DEFENCE SECURITY ASIA) — A few days ago, several images circulated on social media depicting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspecting the country’s drones, characterized as its most advanced unmanned aerial systems.

However, North Korea’s most advanced drones, named Saetbyol-4 and Saetbyol-9, bear an almost 100 percent resemblance to the U.S.-owned RQ-4 Global Hawk and MQ-9 Reaper drones.

It can be asserted that both North Korean drones are replicas of their U.S. counterparts.

North Korean media outlets claim that Saetbyol-4 is a “strategic reconnaissance drone,” while Saetbyol-9 is labeled a “multi-purpose attack drone.”

Notably, Saetbyol-9, a replica of the Reaper drone, also utilizes guided munitions strikingly similar to the “Hellfire” guided missiles.

North Korea seems prepared to deploy both of its “copycat” drones to counter the original Global Hawk and Reaper drones operated by the South Korean and U.S. military on the Korean Peninsula.

The prospect of North Korea’s cloned drones, such as Saetbyol-4 and Saetbyol-9, encountering the original Global Hawk and Reaper drones in the airspace over the Korean Peninsula is an intriguing situation.

What would happen if the original Global Hawk and Reaper drones owned by South Korea and the U.S. encounter their spitting image “cousins,” namely North Korea’s cloned drones, Saetbyol-4 and Saetbyol-9?

South Korea acquired four Global Hawk drones from the U.S., with the last and fourth high-altitude, long-endurance drone received from Washington in 2020.

The HALE Global Hawk drone was developed by Northrop Grumman, while the Reaper drone was developed by General Atomics.

The United States operates its High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) Global Hawk drones in Japan for monitoring purposes in the Indo-Pacific, including events in North Korea.

 

 The Global Hawk drones also operate from bases in South Korea, with their primary base being in Japan.

The Global Hawk is a HALE drone that the U.S. military first used in 2005. Defense analysts state that the drone has an endurance of 34-42 hours and can operate at altitudes up to 65,000 feet, with a range reaching 14,000 nautical miles.

It is equipped with an Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar, a Raytheon electro-optic suite, L3 communication systems, and electronic support measures.

Last November, North Korea’s official media revealed two drones with designs almost identical to the U.S.-developed “Global Hawk” and MQ-9 “Reaper” drones.

 

It is uncertain when North Korea developed these drones, but two years ago, its leader, Kim Jong Un, mobilized the country’s military to develop “attack drones” and “surveillance drones” with a capability to operate up to 500 km.

 Both North Korean drones were showcased to prominent figures, including Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, at a recent weapons and defense exhibition in the capital, Pyongyang. – DSA