Posted on 09/21/2006 12:57:33 AM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
Is U.S. Ostracizing Korea From Top Weapon Sale?
The U.S. is refusing to sell its long-range high-altitude drone Global Hawk to Korea but not to other countries, reports have alleged. According to press reports, Washington has authorized sales of the unmanned aerial vehicle to Japan, Australia and Singapore but has opted not to sell it to Korea. According to some sources this is because it fears theft of cutting-edge technology, while others say the refusal is due to the uncomfortable state of the Korea-U.S. alliance.
But a Defense Ministry official said Seoul does not see the decision as discrimination but rather as the U.S. honoring its commitments under the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR). The U.S. has told Korea it did not in fact approve the sale to any country.
The MTCR governs export or transport of craft capable of carrying weapons of mass destruction, including rockets and UAVS, as well as related equipment and technology. The Global Hawk is considered extremely sensitive and therefore falls under category 1 of the MTCR, with its strictest regulations. The category covers missiles and drones with a payload of 500 kg and higher and a range of 300 km or greater, as well as equipment to produce such weaponry and their major complete subsystems.
The operational radius of the Global Hawk is 5,500 km, meaning it would enable the Korean military to spy on all of Japan and most of China if approved for sale.
So in principle the U.S. cannot export the Global Hawk anywhere. But a clause in the MTCR allows for exceptions in certain cases, so it is not certain that it will not eventually be sold. Japan, Australia and Singapore had special agreements with the U.S. ahead of the adoption of the MTCR in 1987, so transactions with these countries are understood to not be governed by the regime.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
The U.S. Defense and State Departments drafted an updated interim policy to the MTCR in late 2001 to allow UAV (including UCAV) exports to selected countries on a case-by-case basis.
Sorry SK is to close to Beijing and NK. We wont have our UAV tech stolen from us,and that is exactly what will happen. They have become beijing bootlickers.Sorry,have china build you UAV's.
The crew of that plane should have ditched it in the ocean. Just like the Pueblo Captain should have scuttled the Pueblo.
Irritating but amusing. It was after all exactly what we did to that Russian Mig the defector landed in Japan in the 80s....
South Corea (Korea) politions have made it plain they no longer need (the) US - nor do they wish to have US in country.
I would support a complete vacation of US forces from ROK. After all, then-Pres Carter promised to pull the troops in 1976, and I am still waiting.
So, why should we sell them anything cutting edge?
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