South Korea this week plans to use the launch of a satellite-carrying rocket to test the tracking capability of its sea-based Aegis missile-defense system, the Korea Times reported (see GSN, June 29).
The South Korean navy plans to track the Korea Space Launch Vehicle, also known as the Naro-ho, as though it were a long-range ballistic missile.
"The launch of the Naro-ho will offer a great opportunity for the Sejong destroyer to test and evaluate its performances, since a space vehicle, in general, has almost the same design, components, and technology as those of an ICBM."
The Aegis serves primarily to safeguard South Korea from missile attacks from North Korea, its nuclear-armed neighbor.
The radar on the U.S.-made Aegis system is one of the most powerful ever made, able to monitor as many as 1,000 airborne objects at a time, in all directions. It will stop short of shooting down the Naro-ho during Wednesday's test (Jung Sung-ki, Korea Times, Aug. 16).