South Korea has shown a combat laser Block-I designed to intercept drones. The fiber-optic laser Block-I is designed to combat small UAVs at a distance of up to 3 km, the laser power is 20 kW. The Block-I laser has already begun to be mass-produced, this year the troops will receive it. The Block-I laser exists in a mobile and stationary version. The modernized version Block-II will be able to hit aircraft and ballistic missiles, how they will be able to intercept ballistic missiles is still unknown. Laser Air Defense Weapon Block-I was developed as part of the South Korean Star Wars project, research on it began in 2019, $ 63 million was spent.
The laser is manufactured by Hanwha Aerospace, the cost of a Block-I laser shot is one and a half dollars.
The Hyunmoo-5 ballistic missile was displayed at a military parade to mark the 76th anniversary of the South Korean Armed Forces. The Hyunmoo-5 missile system is currently the most powerful in South Korea. The Hyunmoo-5 missile is capable of carrying an 8-9 ton conventional warhead and penetrating deep into the ground, destroying underground bunkers. The Hyunmoo-5 missile weighs about 36 tons and is capable of hitting targets at a range of up to 3.5 thousand kilometers. By reducing the weight of the warhead, the missile’s range could be about 5,000 kilometers. The missile has independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRVs), allowing it to hit multiple targets. The Hyunmoo surface-to-surface missile is considered one of the key assets in the three-axis deterrence structure against North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats.
