South Korea and the United States conducted joint space exercises to repel North Korea’s Global Positioning System (GPS) jamming attacks and other space threats, the Air Force said on Wednesday.
The Air Force Space Operations Squadron and the U.S. Space Forces based in Korea formed an integrated team to conduct the training as part of Korea Flying Training (KFT), a large-scale annual Air Force training exercise.
This is the first time an integrated space operations team has attended the Korean aviation training, a two-week training that has been ongoing since April 12 at an air base in Gunsan, 178 kilometers south of Seoul.
During the exercises, allied forces simulated scenarios to deter satellite communications interference and enhance the accuracy of GPS systems against potential North Korean threats.
Using data collected by US military satellites, the Air Force said, it shared the coordinates of jamming attacks and related information with allied forces, enabling South Korean and US fighter jets to acc
urately target the source of jamming attacks.
The team indicated that it also discussed ways to integrate South Korean spy satellites into real missions and operations to prepare for their future deployment.
South Korea put its first military reconnaissance satellite into orbit in December and another earlier this month as part of its plan to put five by 2025 to better monitor North Korea.
The Space Operations Squadron was established in December 2022 as an integrated unit for space operations and surveillance against Pyongyang’s advanced space capabilities.
Likewise, US Space Forces Korea is tasked with coordinating space operations, missile warning, and satellite communications to counter North Korea’s missile and nuclear threats. It was also established in December 2022 as the first US Space Force unit to be established on foreign soil.
North Korea launched its spy satellite in November and has pledged to send three more satellites into space this year. The South Korean military is closely monitoring
North Korea’s preparations to launch its second satellite./End
Source: National Iraqi News Agency