The PATRIOT Missiles that the Korean military bought from the Germans are now being deployed around Korea:
South Korea has begun installing a billion dollars worth of second hand German Patriot anti-aircraft missiles. The Germans don’t need as many Patriot batteries since the Cold War ended in 1991. So they sold twelve batteries, and several hundred PAC 2 missiles, to South Korea, who want to improve their defenses against North Korean ballistic missiles. The PAC 2 can knock down the SCUD type missiles that North Korea has hundreds of.
Each Patriot battery is manned by about a hundred troops, and contains a radar, plus four launchers. A Patriot launcher can hold four PAC 2s, each of which weighs about a ton and has a range of 70 kilometers against missiles or aircraft. [Strategy Page]
The Korean government along with this purchase of the second hand PATRIOTs is also buying services from the Raytheon Corporation to provide maintenance and integration expertise for these new missiles. However, it is important to note that these PATRIOTs are not the most up to date missiles available since they are only PAC-2 PATRIOTs and not the advanced PAC-3’s that the US military is currently fielded with. The fielding of the PAC-2’s is all part of a domestic missile shield the ROK military is creating that is supposed to be operational by 2012:
The deployment of upgraded Patriot Advanced Capability-2 (PAC-2) systems is a core part of Seoul’s plan to build an independent theater missile defense shield, dubbed the Korean air and missile defense (KAMD) network system.
The KAMD, also involving Aegis destroyer ship-to-air missile defense systems, is designed to intercept low-flying, short- and medium-range missiles from North Korea. The North is believed to have deployed more than 600 Scud missiles with a range of 320 to 500 kilometers, and 200 Rodong missiles that can hit Japan, near the border.
The low-tier missile shield is expected to reach initial operational capability by 2010, while full operational capability is expected by 2012 when a ballistic missile early warning radar is to be introduced. That’s also when three 7,600-ton KDX-III Aegis-equipped destroyers will begin service. [Korea Times]
What else I found interesting in the Korea Times article in regards to the purchase of the German PAC-2’s is that anti-US sentiment was one of the deciding factors on why PAC-3’s were not purchased from the US.
It will be interesting to see if this fielding of these PATRIOTs will allow the US military to withdraw the current PATRIOT brigade stationed in Korea in 2012 when the KAMD network is considered operational in order to further reduce the US force footprint in the country.
I am willing to bet there will be plenty of delay games as we have seen before in regards to USFK withdrawals.
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11:52 am on September 22nd, 2008 1
GI,
I heard that the PAC system is just a temporary measure until the KM-SAM program, developed from Russian S-300 technology, is developed. Isn’t it the reason why Korea decided to purchase the second hand missiles from Germany?
6:18 pm on September 22nd, 2008 2
I would guess most of the batteries would be forward located, in particulair around Souel. I think it may be a little overkill considering the shape of NKs military. Yes, scuds are a problem, but many of the sites would be eliminated in any retaliatory strikes quickly. And it would be unlikely to fire all at once, saving none for a second attack.
6:47 pm on September 22nd, 2008 3
Dr. Yu, I think the main reason Korea bought the second hand PATRIOTs because they are cheap. They did not want to pay the big bucks needed to get top of the line missile defense.
They also had domestic political concerns that by buying top of the line missile defense from the US it would put pressure on them to join the US missile defense system being developed in the Pacific.
Buying the second hand PATRIOTs allows Korea to say thanks but no thanks to the US missile defense shield while also paying a cheaper price tag while also continuing to move towards developing their own missile defense system the KAMD.
Gerry this what the KT article had to say about where the missiles will be deployed:
8:17 pm on September 22nd, 2008 4
Over thirty years ago, when the ROK Army was fielding Hawk missile systems, they liked to repeat an expression they picked up from their US Army trainers, “If you don’t Squawk, you get a Hawk.” “Squawk” meant an aircraft responding with the proper identication signal. IFF systems were just not reliable then to be the sole determinant for that decision.
Obviously, the air forces, ROKAF and USAF, wanted to ensure that there would be more than a cavalier attitude about firing air defense missiles, so there were strict procedures put place to get air force clearance before an air target was engaged.
Now that the ROK and US are developing independent Command and Control systems, I am sure that a whole new set of procedures must be worked out in this area. Fog of war, language barriers and minutes if not seconds to decide, let’s hope they get it right.
4:28 am on September 23rd, 2008 5
If the missle has never been used then its new.
1:59 pm on September 25th, 2008 6
Ah, 12 more targets to be wiped out by Nork special forces in the first 30 seconds of a Nork attack.
8:37 pm on September 25th, 2008 7
SURPRISE!!! I never believed that it would finally come to the ROK getting the PAC-2s. For YEARS, they have been negotiating and renegotiating to get the price down supposedly, but the real reason was that they never wanted to get them. Well, it happened.
But I ask how effective is the PAC-2 when compared to the PAC-3s? Now that the ROK is trying to develop its “indigenous” KMD, when will the KMD be up and running? Is the PAC-2 sufficient to provide the protection to the low-level missile threats from North Korea as part of the KMD?
I also wonder why they FINALLY got the PAC-2s now — instead of four years ago. I wonder if it was because of the pressure from Gen Bell and Gen Sharp — reporting to the US Congress — that pushed the ROK to finally commit. Or was it the Germans who were getting fed up with the ROK stall? We’ll never know.
“It will be interesting to see if this fielding of these PATRIOTs will allow the US military to withdraw the current PATRIOT brigade stationed in Korea in 2012 when the KAMD network is considered operational in order to further reduce the US force footprint in the country.”
This is a good question. The PAC-2 compared to the PAC-3 is like comparing apples to oranges when looking at sheer firepower. Do you really think it is a substitute for the current PAC-3s in country at Suwon AB, Osan AB, Kunsan AB and Taegu? If the US considers pulling out its PAC-3s from Suwon because the PAC-2s have arrived in Seoul and Suwon, how much of a sacrifice in protection for its assets in Osan AB and Camp Humphreys will the USFK be willing to accept? Is the Suwon AB PAC-3s flagged to protect the CFC in Seoul — and by extension Seoul — and will it be removed once the CFC relocates?
As it stands, I think the USFK is stuck. The PAC-2s will not provide near the protection as the PAC-3s. However, 2012 is fast approaching and that’s the key date. After that, it is the ROK’s job. If the ROK doesn’t have its “indigenous” KMD up and running by then, it is going to be a face-off.
Even now the ROK is talking of buying an X-band radar for its KMD, but whose X-band are we talking about? Talk is cheap — and the ROK has showb that it will talk for years without any action. Just my opinion, but I believe there is a BIG stall in the future over this ROK KMD — just to ensure the PAC-3s remain in Korea.
8:50 am on September 26th, 2008 8
Kalani,
Could you explain me something?
I thought the PAC-3 stationed in Korea were part of “nuclear umbrella” promised by USA to Korea. Is it right?
11:52 am on September 26th, 2008 9
@8
PAC-2 (upgraded to PAC-3) was NEVER about “nuclear umbrella.” It was about the protection from the SCUDs that could reach to Kunsan AB with their extended range.