Air Force's Modernization Drive...MiG-29 has been improved
'Completed the ability to respond to mid- to long-range air warfare' policy No. 1...Ministry of Military Industry, Defense Research Institute, Air Force to be executed next month
While North Korea recently released live footage of air-to-air missiles, it is known that it is working on securing mid- to long-range air combat power through the improvement of MiG-29 fighter jets.
On the 28th, a military source inside North Korea's Daily NK said, "On the 26th, the 1st (Chairman Kim Jong-un) policy to complete the mid- to long-range air war response capabilities by intensively remodeling some MiG-29 fighter jets at the Ministry of Munitions and Industry, the National Defense Research Institute, the Air Force and the headquarters of the Rebel Air Force was officially ordered."
The first policy was taken after Chairman Kim visited a flight regiment under the control of the North Korean military's 1st Air Force Division on the 15th to guide anti-aircraft combat and air strike drills, and is interpreted as an intention to supplement the aircraft platform for the actual operation of air-to-air missiles.
According to sources, Chairman Kim said in a policy, "The ability to respond to enemy early warning aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles is important for the fighter pilots' training skills, but it depends on whether the air force's avionics equipment is integrated."
Accordingly, the agencies will complete related preparations by the end of this month and officially start implementing their policies from the 1st of next month. In this regard, a source said, "We plan to first improve the limited range of improvements, such as replacing detectors (radars), reinforcing electronic disturbance equipment, and improving the signal line for guided missiles command using the imported air radio control system."
Specifically, the Ministry of Munitions and Industry will import and produce detection modules and head-up displays (HUDs), the National Defense Research Institute will improve missile data links and radar early warning detection capabilities, and the Air Force will be in charge of early detection of enemy aircraft (敵機) and establishment of a combat training system for guided missiles.
The source explained, "The Ministry of Guns Industry is in charge of modernizing the forward display system (HUD) of fighter jets, the Korea Institute of Defense Science and Technology is in charge of enhancing missile and detector capabilities, and the Air Force is in charge of establishing a fighter operation system that can detect and strike enemy aircraft first from an invisible distance."
According to the Ministry of Munitions and Industry's technical guide to implement the policy, North Korea is considering increasing the ability of MiG-29 fighter jets, a key Air Force strategic aircraft, to respond to combat in the short term, securing an aircraft platform capable of off-clock (BVR) combat in the medium term, and improving fighter jets with its own detection, disturbance, communication, and attack integration system in the long term.
Although this series of plans has been visible in recent years, sources say that the Air Force modernization project has been in stages long before.
"In fact, the strengthening of the Air Force's armed forces began more than a decade ago, and as the partial electrification and live shooting of air-to-air missiles have been successfully carried out, it has now entered the stage of full-scale modification of fighter planes that will be equipped with more different types of missiles," the source said. "However, some say that technical limitations are clear for the full-scale transformation of performance."
Meanwhile, a source said, "There is a saying that certain detectors, samples of avionics equipment, and technical drawings were sent down from Tang to enable partial electrification of air-to-air missiles." This suggests that the inflow of technology from outside may have affected the North Korean Air Force's move to secure mid- to long-range air combat power.
