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The South Korean military on Tuesday made a public disclosure of its indigenous drone after three drones suspected of coming from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) were discovered in frontline areas, local broadcaster YTN reported.
The military made public its own drone called peregrine falcon, or Songgolmae in Korean, which was made based on the country's indigenous technology, to local media Tuesday.
The unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), which is 4.8 meters long and 6.4 meters wide, can fly as long as five hours at a top speed of 140 km. The remote-controlled unmanned reconnaissance airplane has been deployed to corps since 2001.
The UAV can transmit video clips of high resolution on a real- time basis, and it can be flown by mobile launchers at any place within 30 minutes, the military said.
Seoul's show of force came after three suspected DPRK drones were found in regions close to the western and eastern frontlines in the past two weeks.
One more UAV, possibly sent by the DPRK, was discovered Sunday in Samcheok, about 290 km east of Seoul and some 130 km south of the military demarcation line between the two Koreas.
It was similar, in size and shape, to the one discovered on March 24 in Paju, the northwestern South Korean city close to the land border. Both UAVs had triangular wings and a rectangular hole, within which a small camera was carried.
On March 31 when the two Koreas exchanged artillery fire, another UAV, which South Korea suspected of coming from the DPRK, was discovered on the Baengnyeong Island just south of the disputed western sea border.
