South Korea’s defence procurement agency, in June 2021, announced that it had approved plans to develop an artillery interception system, like Israel’s Iron Dome, to counter attacks by rockets and long-range missiles launched by North Korea. South Korea would be spending approximately US$ 2.5 billion on research and development of this new system and plans to deploy it by 2035.
Israel’s Iron Dome
Israel’s Iron Dome a short-range, ground-to-air aerial defence system that consists of a radar and Tamir interceptor missiles that track and neutralise any rockets or missiles aimed at Israel. It is used to counter rockets, artillery, and mortars (C-RAM) as well as aircraft, helicopters, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) over short range of up to 70 km. It is an all-weather system and can engage multiple targets simultaneously and be deployed over land and sea.
The origin of the Iron Dome is traced to the 2006 Israeli-Lebanon war in which the Hezbollah attacked by firing thousands of rockets into Israel. It prompted Israel to come up with a defence mechanism to counter such attacks. A year later, Israel announced that its state-run Rafael Advance Systems would come up with a new air defence system to protect its cities and people.
The Iron Dome was deployed in 2011. As per Rafael, it has a success rate of over 90 per cent, with more than 2,000 interceptions. But experts say that the success rate is over 80 per cent.
Iron Dome System
There are three main components of Iron Dome system—a detection and tracking radar, a battle management and weapon control system (BMC), and a missile firing unit (MFU).
The system consists of several steering fins that provide it with high manoeuvrability and is furnished with electro-optic sensors. Other capabilities of missile system include day-and-night and all-weather capability, quick reaction time, salvo interception capability, capability to adapt to rapidly evolving threats, and handle multiple threats simultaneously.
The system is equipped with a vertical launch interceptor, warhead and proximity fuse, mobile launcher, and compatibility with various radar and detection tools. The system’s special warhead allows it to detonate any target in the air.
While the radar of Iron Dome detects and identifies the rocket and then monitors the path of the rocket, the system’s BMC analyses the path of the threat and calculates an anticipated point of impact based on information provided by radar. If any real threat is perceived by calculation, a command is run to launch an interceptor against that threat and the incoming rocket is detonated over a neutral area.
Need for a New Defence System
After the armistice that led to a pause to the Korean War in 1953, both countries have built up massive military presence on both sides of the Military Demarcation Line, along the 38th parallel. North Korea deploys around 1,000 artillery pieces along the Military Demarcation Line that divides the Korean Peninsula. As per South Korean military officials, it includes multiple 240-millimetre rocket launchers, most of which are directly aimed at the South Korean capital Seoul and its larger metropolitan areas, where approximately half of the country’s population resides, according to government estimates.
As per Kim Youngjun, professor at the Korea National Defense University, North Korea is one of the prime considerations behind the move but is not the sole factor. South Korea is surrounded by powerful neighbouring countries like China, Russia, Japan and others.
South Korea’s decision to develop this new defence system is the result of a long defence acquisition procedure.
But at the same time, it is apparent that South Korea’s military posture has largely been North Korea-centric, particularly over the last decade. As per Dr Jagannath Panda, coordinator of the East Asia Centre at Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA), “The South Koreans have been continuously trying to upgrade their military capabilities. Israel’s Iron Dome system was very much in South Korea’s radar for a very long time.”
Israel’s Iron Dome vs South Korea’s System
South Korea’s defence ministry said that its version of the Iron Dome would be quite different from Israel’s and would also entail much more cost. The two systems also differ in operational aspects; the key difference is that South Korea’s system will be designed to intercept long-range artillery pieces.
The differences in two systems from the different security threats faced by the two countries that require different responses. There is also a significant difference between the belligerents in both cases. While Israel contends with Hamas, which is primarily a militant group, South Korea had to contend with North Korea, a nation with its own extensive military capabilities. The two nations also have totally different geographical features that have their own part to play. In this regard, Professor Kim says “Israel’s system is fit for its geography, the desert and threats like rocket shooting by non-state actors. But South Korea has different geography, with mountain terrain with threats from traditional state actors. Thus, South Korea will develop its own type of weapon system, fit for its geography and environment.”
Critical Analysis
The plans to acquire an indigenous version of the Iron Dome have drawn disapproval from some politicians and activists of the country. The government has been criticised for spending more on developing military capabilities to deter North Korea, while on the other hand, the Moon Jae-in government has been more friendly than its predecessors with Pyongyang.
Some deem such policy between the Korean Peninsula peace process and defence development of the government as contradictory. But as per professor Kim, there is no contradiction as such; South Korea is only concerned about its own interests in the Korean Peninsula and the region at large. He elaborates that the US had good diplomatic ties with the Soviets (the arms control treaty) but prepared for defence measures during the Cold War. Today, the US and China have trade relations, though the US defence department considers People’s Liberation Army (PLA) as the main threat.
South Korea’s decision cannot be viewed in isolation in the complex geopolitical dynamics of northeast Asia. Panda says “Japan might keep a cautious eye and might not be happy with South Korea possessing such a model like Israel. But they aren’t really opposed to it either because they know that these capabilities are being developed keeping North Korea in mind”. According to Panda, “South Korea will be developing these new missiles with the knowledge of Americans, an alliance partner of both Japan and South Korea. But China will see it as a negative development because as we know, when THAAD was deployed, both China and Russia reacted very strongly.”
Panda is of the view that Russia has never been in favour of advanced militarisation in the Korean Peninsula because it believes that such a development may only check Russian influence and military might in northeast Asia. “The security architecture in northeast Asia would not really be stable. And this is the main cause of concern for Beijing and Moscow right now. Both are monitoring the situation for now, but are bound to react.”
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