Seoul: The Army has partially suspended flights of its unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) following a collision between a drone and a helicopter at an airfield earlier this week, officials disclosed Tuesday. The incident resulted in a fire that destroyed both aircraft, though no injuries were reported.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the collision occurred on Monday when a Heron reconnaissance drone collided with a Surion helicopter at the Yangju airfield, north of Seoul. The UAV was attempting to land when it struck the parked helicopter, sparking a blaze that also caused minor damage to another helicopter nearby.
In response to the incident, the Army has partially suspended drone flights as part of an ongoing investigation, an Army official stated, declining to provide additional details. Questions regarding potential disruptions to reconnaissance operations were addressed by Lt. Col. Yang Seung-kwan, spokesperson for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who mentioned that other military assets would be used but refrained from elaborating due to operational security concerns.
The military employs a variety of assets to monitor North Korean military activities, which include the Israeli-made Heron drones, the Air Force's Global Hawk UAVs, and spy satellites. The recent accident has rendered the Army's three Heron UAVs inoperative, with one previously crashing last November following a North Korean GPS attack, and another currently undergoing maintenance.
This collision follows another incident on March 6, when two fighter jets accidentally bombed a town in the northern city of Pocheon, resulting in injuries to 38 people.