North Korea presented data on the combat test of the latest medium-range air-to-air missile over the weekend, launched from a MiG-29 fighter. It is a generation behind the weapons of competitors, but the sharp increase in the republic's combat capabilities has worried South Korea.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) of South Korea suspects that North Korea may have developed a new missile with the assistance of Russia. Shin Seung-ki, a researcher at the Korea Institute for Defense Analysis, noted that air-to-air missiles are among the most difficult to develop.
They require integration with the aircraft's radar, fire control systems, and avionics. North Korea likely received significant assistance from outside, and most likely from Russia. The internal subsystems and know-how are almost certainly Russian.
During exercises in North Korea, the munition was launched from a MiG-29 (9.13) fighter of the country's Air Force, destroying a mock aerial target at a range of 120 km.
Earlier, www1.ru reported that footage of an export Su-34 fighter-bomber in unusual camouflage has appeared.
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