Eyes on Baekdu: Unwrapping South Korea’s ISR bizjets
South Korea is modernising its fleet of ageing surveillance bizjets to counter the increasing threats from its archrival in the north
As one of the handful of ISR bizjet operators in Asia, South Korea has operated a fleet of heavily modified Hawker 800 aircraft since the 1990s. The fleet of eight signals intelligence (SIGINT) and imagery intelligence (IMINT) Hawker 800s, designated Baekdu and Geumgang respectively, is nearing the end of its service life after thirty years of continuous operations. In 2017, the Republic of Korea Air Force (RoKAF) introduced two modified Falcon 2000S SIGINT bizjets to increase its surveillance capabilities. Amid increased tensions in the region, particularly with North Korea, the RoKAF is now in the process of acquiring Dassault Falcon 2000LXS aircraft to replace their ageing Hawker 800s.
Under the code names Peace Pioneer and Peace Krypton, the RoKAF ordered the eight Raytheon Hawker 800XP bizjets in 1996. The programs started in 1991 with American, Israeli and French companies bidding for the contract. Five years later, Raytheon was selected for the Peace Pioneer program and the company started work on the RC-800SIG bizjets at Raytheon’s Wichita facility, with deliveries of the SIGINT bizjets beginning in late 1997. The Peace Krypton jets received the ‘Baekdu’ designation in South Korean service, which refers to Baekdu Mountain on the China-North Korea border. While never officially disclosed, it is rumoured that the sensor range of the SIGINT bizjet already reached this highest peak of the Korean peninsula when they entered service in the 1990s.
For imagery intelligence, the RoKAF acquired (and still operates) four RC-800RA ‘Geumgang’ bizjets. The four bizjets were equipped with a 30cm resolution Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) sensor by Lockheed Martin as the prime contractor to provide Fixed Target Imagery (FTI) and Moving Target Indicator (MTI) data. The sensor range is somewhat limited compared to the SIGINT sensors of the Baekdu jets but sources suggest the radar sensor is capable of detecting and distinguishing targets as far north as Pyongyang from South Korean airspace. The Geumgang IMINT bizjets went into service in 2001 and flew (near-)daily missions above the border region, but modern satellite-based SAR sensors have mostly replaced the mission of the Geumgang bizjets.
After North Korea’s second underground nuclear test in 2009, the acquisition process for upgraded SIGINT jets was proposed. Eight years later in 2017, two modified Falcon 200S bizjets were added to the RoKAF fleet. Equipped with a more advanced sensor suite, the RC-2000B has a higher operational altitude and longer endurance, enabling a further line-of-sight for the SIGINT sensors and longer missions. The specific sensor suite is unknown, but exterior modifications suggest that the RC-2000B jets are equipped with both SIGINT and radar capabilities, as well as an EO/IR sensor.
The two French-made Falcon 2000s will soon be supplemented by new Dassault Falcon 2000LXS jets to replace the ageing RC-800 Baekdu jets. In 2021, the South Korean military awarded a contract to Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) to convert four Falcon 2000LXS bizjets into Baekdu-II ISR platforms. As most of the program is classified, details are very limited. However, it is expected that the new Baekdu-II bizjets will be equipped with both a SIGINT and an IMINT sensor suite encompassing a SAR system and potentially an EO/IR sensor. Expected to start flying operational missions in 2026, the four new Baekdu-II bizjets will serve alongside the RoKAF’s existing ISR fleet consisting of the aforementioned ISR jets, four E-7 AEW&C aircraft and four RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aircraft.
To further expand its domestic ISR and AEW capabilities, the RoKAF is seeking to procure more Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) aircraft by 2031. Currently, two bizjet-based platforms have made the bidding process for the $2.1B contract: a joint L3Harris-Korean Air-IAI team and Saab that partnered with KAI. The first team, led by L3Harris, proposed their Global 6500 CAEW bizjet for the program. Already flying operational missions for the Israeli, Singapore and Italian air forces, it is a proven and highly capable design based on the Bombardier Global 6500 bizjet (more on this design in this post). The second team, led by Saab, proposed the GlobalEye platform for the program. Their AEW&C bizjet, which is also based on the Global 6500 but with the primary radar system mounted on top of the fuselage, is already in service in the UAE and Swedish air forces. (More information on the GlobalEye platform can be found in the post embedded below)
Conclusion
The modernisation and expansion of the South Korean ‘bizjets of war’ program exemplifies its military’s shifting focus in response to increased regional threats, particularly from North Korea. The two RC-2000B SIGINT jets have already greatly enhanced the RoKAF’s SIGINT capabilities, and this is only set to be further boosted with the introduction of four new Falcon 2000LXS aircraft modified into Baekdu-II SIGINT platforms. The new ISR bizjets will also reduce South Korea’s reliance on ISR support from the U.S. military, a critical step as the country works towards realising its ambition of full operational control of its forces in future conflict. While the Geumgang IMINT jets have been largely replaced by satellites, the acquisitions of new SIGINT and AEW&C bizjets underscore their increasing attractiveness for ISR missions in an increasingly unstable world.
Thank you
Thank you for reading this post! As always, feel free to reach out with your thoughts, questions and/or suggestions. If you have information or photos about ISR bizjets, you can always contact me via DMs (@bizjetsofwar) and/or send an email (see the About page). You will always stay anonymous and the information/photos will not be shared without explicit approval, but please do not send information you are not allowed to share.