A brand new evaluation by the Pentagon’s Defence Intelligence Company has claimed that Russia has despatched Patnsir air defence fight automobiles to North Korea, as a part of increasing defence cooperation between the 2 nations. The paper assessed that the East Asian state had reached its “strongest strategic place” in a long time, with its increasing entry to Russian area, nuclear and missile relevant expertise, experience and supplies, and appreciable revenues from arms exports to Russia, thought-about to be among the many essential contributors to this place. The Pantsir system first entered service within the Russian Armed Forces in 2012, and is prized for its excessive mobility and flexibility. The system has been intensively fight examined in Libya, Syria and Ukraine, and by the start of the 2020s had already shot down over 100 drones and not less than one fighter. Its capacity to supply a defence in opposition to Western radar evading cruise missiles such because the Storm Shadow have been enhanced considerably based mostly on fight expertise within the Ukrainian theatre. Representatives from the Excessive Precision Weapons holding of the Russian state owned defence conglomerate Rostec beforehand summarised the enhancements made to the system as follows: “All mandatory alterations have been launched to the Pantsir-S system, making it potential to extend its effectivity in opposition to ‘troublesome’ projectiles and long-range missiles, together with the long-range, low-visibility Storm Shadow cruise missile. The outcomes of its fight use have confirmed the correctness of beforehand made design selections.”
The Pantsir system has been extensively exported to over a dozen purchasers the world over, and within the Russian Armed Forces is valued for offering a brief vary counterpart to lengthy vary techniques such because the S-400 and medium vary techniques such because the BuK-M2. A brand new variant of the system launched in 2019, the Pantsir-SM, included various new applied sciences, and built-in the brand new 57E6M surface-to-air missile as its major armament. The missile elevated the system’s engagement vary from 20 to 30 kilometres, whereas permitting for concentrating on of plane and missiles at excessive 18,000 meter altitudes and offering a capability to have interaction at 31 p.c greater speeds. The system additionally launched new digital warfare countermeasures, and had an elevated detection vary in opposition to fighter sized targets to 75 kilometres. New surface-to-air missiles on the system are complemented by the usual armament of two 2A38M 30mm anti-aircraft autocannon, that are thought-about significantly helpful for neutralising assaults by massive numbers of low velocity drones, and supply a secondary functionality to have interaction infantry and light-weight automobiles.
Regardless of its low price and the advantages of intensive fight testing, it stays questionable whether or not North Korea would search to acquire Pantsir techniques from Russia. The nation’s personal defence sector has confirmed able to producing a lot greater finish and extra advanced air defence techniques indigenously, with essentially the most notable instance being the Pyongae-6 thought-about a direct analogue to the Russian S-400. Prior to now, as was the case with the S-300 derived Pyongae-5 system, the nation sought to amass armaments from Russia via massive scale expertise switch offers and help for home license manufacturing. For comparatively low finish techniques just like the Pantsir, which had been designed to be fielded in larger numbers, such an method can be extra according to longstanding North Korean procurement traits. False studies of Russian arms transfers to North Korea have been made a number of occasions up to now, significantly since early 2024 when massive scale North Korean arms gross sales to its neighbour had been confirmed. A notable prior instance was the extremely doubtful declare made in November 2024 by various Western sources that Russia had doubtless transferred S-400 lengthy vary air defence techniques to its neighbour, which appeared extremely unlikely for various causes.
Though there’s important room to doubt that North Korea has procured the Pantsir system, the chance can’t be dominated out completely. One chance is that the Korean Folks’s Army positioned a small order for the techniques as a way to take a look at them extra intensively underneath native circumstances, permitting for an analysis of whether or not massive scale procurements underneath a licence manufacturing deal can be a beneficial funding. These preliminary fashions might subsequently be used for coaching. Russia can also have made a licence manufacturing deal or numerous expertise transfers conditional on North Korea first procuring various ‘off the shelf’ items. One other chance is that the Korean Folks’s Army perceived an pressing want to reinforce anti-drone capabilities within the inter-Korean Demilitarised Zone or across the capital Pyongyang, significantly after drones launched from South Korea in October 2024 penetrated North Korean airspace to drop propaganda leaflets over the capital metropolis Pyongyang. The operation was thought-about an unprecedented violation of the nation’s in any other case extremely safe airspace, and should have led an ‘off the shelf’ buy to be seen as mandatory. An extra chance is that the techniques had been present as assist, with the intention of coaching Korean Folks’s Army items in North Korea for them to then use Pantsir techniques on the frontlines within the Ukrainian theatre.
