An alliance evolving toward weapons exchanges

Yu Yeong-sik
The author, a retired admiral of Korean Navy, is a director of the Korea Maritime Security Forum.

At the final stage of the Foreign Comparative Testing (FCT) Program hosted by the U.S. Department of Defense on July 12, the Korean-made Bigung 2.75-inch (70-milimeter) infrared-guided anti-ship short-range missile system hit all six of its targets. It is the first time in the history of Korea’s defense industry that a product passed the FCT. This success paves the way for the Bigung’s export to the United States.

This accomplishment was possible because of the tireless research and development of the Agency for Defense Development under the Ministry of National Defense and the efforts of participating companies. The defense industry is led by the government, while the private sector cooperates. It is a defense system that protects the country and at the same time a high-tech industry that benefits the economy.

For more than 70 years, Korea has effectively responded to hostile threats from outside under the “defense umbrella” provided by its ally, the United States. The Korea-U.S. alliance — which began with the signing of the Korean War Armistice Agreement on July 27, 1953 — has enabled the country to industrialize, democratize and finally join the ranks of the developed world.

Korean Navy floats the Bigung 2.75-inch (70-milimeter) infrared-guided anti-ship short-range missile for a live fire test off the coast of Hawaii, June 12. [YONHAP]

The Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command — the core of the decades-long alliance — has been active under the operational plan to defend Korea (OPLAN 5027). A four-star general — who serves as the commander of the Combined Forces Command as well as the commander of the U.S. Forces Korea — operates U.S. troops under various operational plans. According to the plans, the United States utilizes its Army, Navy and Air Force assets to defend Korea.

The U.S. weapons system integrates cutting-edge technologies. In the eyes of Korean soldiers who have participated in Korea-U.S. joint exercises, including this writer, the U.S. weapons system was a true subject of envy that no other country can compete against. Korea’s defense technology has set its goal to catch up with the U.S. military’s advanced weapons and fiercely challenged and developed them.

The fruits of these efforts include the Air Force’s advanced fighter jets, the Navy’s Aegis ships and the Army’s precision-guided munitions. The development of such weapons was possible because Korea had made the best efforts to accumulate indigenous technology by utilizing them — instead of simply importing equipment, military products and components from friendly countries, including the United States. It is impressive that such a country opened the way to export its weapons to the U.S. through the test firing of Bigung.

Arms sales are made by bundling strategic, tactical and combat principles into a package and conducting educational training simultaneously. From a military point of view, security alliances and weapons are one and the same in the sense that product supply and training are provided together. It is the highest level of collective security.

The weapons Korea has developed since it started advocating for self-defense in the 1970s are mostly complete products imported from America and Europe or products made domestically by incorporating their technologies. A prime example of successful localization through the research and development of transferred technologies is the ship-to-ship guided missile system.

While operating hundreds of imported Harpoon ship-to-ship guided missiles, the Korean Navy started the localization project in 1996 with the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses. In 2005, it successfully developed the Haeseong ship-to-ship guided missile system which is considered one of the most successful cases in Korea’s history of guided missile development. In 2010, Haesong marked its first export.

Bigung, which recently passed the U.S. Defense Department test, is a short-range strike weapon that carries condensed technology in a barrel about the size of a mug. The Korean military is operating the system in the inter-Korean maritime border of the West Sea to deter North Korea’s surprise landing craft, and it has shown a high hit rate. The Bigung system has demonstrated a 100-percent reliability in the waters of the Central Pacific Rim — the training zone of the Pacific exercise — when it was tested in the presence of Admiral Lisa Franchetti, the chief of naval operations of the U.S. Navy.

As we can see from the U.S. demand to increase Korea’s sharing of the cost for stationing the U.S. Forces Korea, the 70-year-old alliance is now shifting from a one-way flow to a two-way exchange. If Korea’s export of guided weapons system to the United States is realized at this critical point of the evolving alliance, it will certainly elevate the level of the alliance. Mutual trust will be strengthened further and security cooperation at the highest level will be established.

Although many said it’s only a matter of time for Bigung to be exported to the United States, the Korean government, Korean and U.S. military authorities, related organizations and companies must cooperate as much as possible to produce a real outcome. Anticipation is high that the alliance will evolve toward weapons exchanges, going beyond its initial role of security policy.

Translation by the Korea JoongAng Daily staff.