Additonal Falcon 2000s for RoKAF

The Republic of Korea Air Force (RoKAF) will bolster its Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance (ISR) capacity with four additional Dassault Falcon 2000S ISR aircraft.

The new aircraft will be delivered to the 296th Reconnaissance Squadron (39th Reconnaissance Wing) at Seongnam Air Base (Seoul, South Korea). In 2011, the first two Falcon 2000S aircraft were delivered to the unit.

Korean Air will bring the twin-engine Falcon 2000S business jets from France's Dassault Aviation to turn them into medium-altitude Baekdu aircraft. The ISR aircraft, a key surveillance force of the air force, is named “Baekdu” as its coverage reaches Mt. Baekdu in North Korea.

To reduce its dependence on US intelligence, South Korean troops have bolstered intelligence capabilities by purchasing more spy planes or upgrading the surveillance capabilities of those in service.

Following the success of the first Baekdu programme, the RoKAF decided to launch a programme to replace the four older RC800 reconnaissance aircraft (Raytheon's Hawker 800XP) with newly configured aircraft. This second programme is planned to run from 2022 to 2026 with a total cost of USD 768 million.

Photo by Chan Hyuk Han (Scramble Archive)