North Korea shows progress in AWACS, reconnaissance UAV programmes

North Korea's Morning Star-4 strategic reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicle. (Janes/Akhil Kadidal)

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has overseen flight trials of the new Ilyushin Il-76MD airborne warning and control system (AWACS) platform and the Saetbyol-4 (Morning Star-4) ‘strategic reconnaissance' unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that are under development in the country.

North Korea disclosed progress made in these programmes on 27 March, following Kim's visit to the country's Unmanned Aeronautical Technology Complex and the Detection and Electronic Warfare Research Group on 25 and 26 March. According to the state-owned Korea Central Television (KCTV), Kim said that unmanned and artificial intelligence (AI) programmes “should be given the highest priority”. Referring to the AWACS, Kim added that the aircraft will play a “major role in monitoring potential threats and collecting vital intelligence”.

The North Korean leader's comments about enhancing unmanned capabilities appear to be based on perceptions that global “competition to use intelligent UAVs as the main means of military power is accelerating”, according to the KCTV report.

In photographs published by the state-owned Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on 27 March, Kim was inspecting the Morning Star-4 UAV, which was shown conducting a test flight in wheels-down configuration.

Janes has previously reported that the Morning Star-4 UAV, which was shown for the first time at the Weapons and Equipment Exhibition 2023 at the Armed Forces Hall in Pyongyang in July 2023, is known to have conducted test flights prior to its unveiling. The Morning Star-4 bears a resemblance to the Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk.