New 'Halo'-esque look for Korea's troops

(Credit: ADD)

Things may be getting a little more stylish up on the DMZ (the Korean Demilitarized Zone) when Republic of Korea troops don their new high-tech battle uniforms. Accessories could include bulletproof helmets and a new assault rifle.

The Agency for Defense Development will begin the two-phase development on a new combat uniform beginning next year, according to The Korea Times.

"The agency has completed studies on the concept of the future combatant uniform and equipment,'" an unnamed official told the newspaper. "From next year, we plan to begin developing related technology and equipment after getting approval from the Defense Acquisition Program Administration."

The new new battle uniforms would provide protection against nuclear, biological, and chemical attacks, and would feature automatic temperature control. A new protective vest is also planned. In addition to keeping the lead out, the helmet will be prewired for minicam video transmission, GPS navigation, and assorted networking gear, the official said.

The rifle has already been tested and could come online sooner than the rest of the outfit. The double-barreled K-11 assault rifle lets the shooter fire either NATO 5.56- or 20-millimeter grenades, all off the same trigger. Day and night aiming is accomplished with a thermal target seeker and laser that calculates distance automatically--a true point-and-shoot.

[sanenazok]

Wow and what's sad is that all the tech doesn't buy security from North Korea. The North Koreans could be armed with hunting riles and t-shirts and they would still easily overrun the South just because of the numerical advantage.

[myles taylor]

And training. The training of the North Korean troops is much higher than most other militaries.

[Okls]

Except that South Korea has twice the population of North Korea.

[mrtrunkmonkey]

This is sort of true with North Korea having the 4th largest military in the world, what you are forgetting is that while North Korea outnumbers South in troops and weapons. The North's airforce would be no match for South Koreas more advanced fighters. The North might have a few advanced fighters but nothing that could match the overall power that the South has with its more advanced planes. Face it we live in a time when wars will be won from the air. I wonder If North and South now fought who would come to the Norths aid and who would come to the Souths aid. We're talking about one country that has a small influence in the world economy(North) to one that has a enormous influence on the world's economy(South).

[ithomas94]

which is precisely why the US is stationed in South Korea.

[ferretboy88]

they should spend more time and money on their country and people instead of crap like this.

[rapier1]

South Korea, which is the subject of this article, is doing pretty well thank you. North Korea could use some help though.

[mrtrunkmonkey]

Ummmm hate to tell you but, North and South Korea aren't the same country. You are thinking of North Korea. South Korea is doing quite well. To your amazement South Korea has the largest economy in Asia. They are not the poor 3rd world nation you are thinking. They are one of the four "Asian Tigers" which are made up of.... Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan. So please do not make assumptions and comment on them unless you know what you are talking about.. Comments like this drive me crazy in the US, people like to open their mouth and talk politics about things they have no idea about. So please before talking about something you apparently know nothing about, do some research next time before you jump to conclusions.

[ithomas94]

you should really research more before you make crap comments about people's home countries.
It's really very sad that the US is a world power, etc., but there are still people like you who ignorantly spout off hunches and thoughts.

[hohomanx]

While ferretboy88 may or may not have known about the difference between North and South Korea, I find the real problem to be people like trunkmonkey, rapier ithomas who seem to think they are more educated than others. While South Korea was one of the largest economies and one of the "Asian Tigers", if you all did your own research before spouting off like intellectual elitists you would know that South Korea is in a huge bind right now. In fact they are currently in talks to take a huge loan from the IMF because their banks are closing due to over-lending to South Korean companies. While I agree that ferretboy88 may have been running his mouth, I do agree with him that instead of spending their money on armor such as this, they could easily be putting this money towards more efficient uses, such as "their country and people instead of crap like this."

So please, before you all run your mouths, kindly do your research?

[biznatch11]

'Camouflage uniform: Protection from missile attacks.

Really? That's one hell of a uniform.

[RedScourge]

If it can regulate temperature it could thwart heat seeking projectiles, and if it is good camouflage, laser guided missiles wont hit them because the person aiming them cant see them.

It remains to be seen how effective this would actually be vs missile attack, but the likelihood of them even coming under missile attack is low given how NK has been behaving lately.

[infernalman7]

I don't understand, ferretboy88, their people already have everything why would they not buy "security" through developing their own military?

[Thomas, David]

North Korea has so many internal problems, beefing up their military is rather insignificant. They can't even feed, nor care for their own right now. Threatening to over-run South Korea, to ease their conditions would be a futile, yet horrific attempt.

Quite frankly, North Korea, and South Korea need to come together, but that won't happen until the government of North Korea realizes their agenda has done nothing more than damage their own country. They took different paths, and look at the difference. North Korea, a supposedly socialist/communistic state, is really a rule of power, with one supreme person that all it's citizens fear. It's funny how the idea of that type of government becomes so easily twisted into totalitarian rule.

[myles taylor]

Thomas, David, I doubt that the two countries will ever rejoin, simply because South Korea won't allow it. It would destroy the economy and prosperity of the South even worse than it did when Germany re-united and I don't think it will ever happen. North Korea will have to stand on it's own.

[NervClaX]

myles taylor: East and West Germany are doing just fine, thank you very much. The reunification with the East did not "destroy" the economy of the West. My wife is German (from the East) and I've been there many times. They build Bentleys in Dresden, you know. Initially, there may have been a sudden migration from East to West, but that was only because young people had more opportunities with Western businesses and schools. Now, the opportunities are spread more evenly.

[ithomas94]

It will take a long time for South Korea's economy to grow to the point where it would be able to support North Korea, and that might not even happen; North Korea's economy is dismal.
Myles Taylor: You should research. Please. Hmmm well, if the Koreas reunited, it would be pretty ugly as well; think of how the people of North Korea will react when they find out that their government has been deceiving them all this time.

[nihilisticmystic]

This is the product of the feeling of impending doom that every S. Korean feels every day of their life thanks to the north, and also thanks to two 24 hr Starcraft Channels.

The command system must be mostly comprised of point and click commands:
- You want a piece of me boy?
- Jacked up and good to go.
- Give me something to shoot
- GO GO GO!!!
- Are you gonna give me orders?
- Oh my god he's whacked
- I vote we frag this commander
- How do I get out of this piece of chicken *BEEP* outfit?

[ithomas94]

Your name does you good; you;'re a ******* *******.
Of course, what about you Americans and McDonalds, and fast food?
What about your ******* president?
And what about your WoW?
And the MLG?
Seriously, you should take a good long look at your country before starting on Korea.

[nwball]

ithomas94: relax. i think it was joke.

[Calvatheson]

"Wow and what's sad is that all the tech doesn't buy security from North Korea."

True

"The North Koreans could be armed with hunting riles and t-shirts and they would still easily overrun the South just because of the numerical advantage."

Not true. The North does not have the logistics (food, fuel, transport) or the air power to support an invasion. It's main threat to the South is artillery and missiles, with lots of chemicals and maybe a few nukes. The North would lose any war, but it would extract such a price that it has, in effect, both a deterrent and a sabre to rattle when it wants something.

[NervClaX]

You forget. North Korea doesn't need night vision goggles because they are used to stumbling around in the dark after sundown. Without city lights, the South Korean Air Force will have to make bombing runs in the daytime. South Korean cities are very well lit at night and that will make the North's invasion that much easier.

That and a North Korean soldier doesn't need food. He's been trained to fight on puddle water and anxiety.

[RedScourge]

NervClaX: all civilized nations know when there's an air raid to cut the lights, SK would be no different.

But yeah NK is probably pretty damn good at doing alot with a little, but they still can't get the kind of technology that SK has, where they can just pick all their targets in the day time and hit everything at night with GPS, so even with the no light in NK cities SK would win.

[BlahghetyBlah]

You do realize that S.Korea has double the population of the North, and that S.Korea has tanks, APC's, and other weapons that are way better then the Norths. Plus most of the South Koreans weapons were made after 1990, where as nearly all of the North Korean tanks were made in the 1940's-1960's. Plus have you ever lived in S.Korea? They need all that military technology because they have a insane despot living north of them that is willing to use nuclear weapons to appease his own delusions. So maybe you should think before spouting off your make love not war crap...in a perfect world, that works, but this isn't a perfect world so you might want to walk a mile in their shoes before saying you should spend more on their people instead of crap like this...I came from S. Korea and had to deal with that moron up north. And remember N. Korea never sign a peace treaty it's only a longstanding truce, so we're still technically at war with them. And if you really want to know how nut's the North Koreans are look up why we had to do "Operation Paul Bunyon".

[mrtrunkmonkey]

Wow I must've been sleeping in all my history classes. I don't ever remember hearing about Operation Paul Bunyon or what had led up to it. That is one hell of a story can't believe I had never read or heard anything about it before. Learn something new everyday.

[sythara]

I've seen a similar suit proposed for Russia's military few years back. The suit used a special material that hardened when impacted (bullet) yet was flexible under normal conditions.

This one looks like a modified JSLIST with a neat looking helmet and a tac vest.

[crusadex]

Yep the US military too.

[13Miracles]

Can any one explain why you would need protection from lasers? i mean besides the one that can blind you or the one that they are using to take out missiles.

[mrtrunkmonkey]

Nope they mean laser weapons. Just do a search for Northrop Grumman and military grade lasers. The US miltary is supposed to have some by the end of this year if Northrop Grumman is still on track.

Storm Troopers?

[checodaman]

Ever seen Star Wars?

[donwonton]

That video was horrible. At first I thought it was the opening ot Anchorman: SK.

Hopefully the helmet has Surround Sound. I don't know if I'd like to be at war in a full-face helmet.

[jrs_skaz]

Apparently NK is already starving, so how long could they hold out in any serious battle.
Has anyone mentioned the US troops stationed in Korea. Though they are pulling out in the next 5 to 10 years apparently.
NK would likely be smashed in open war, how much damage they could do before the end is a big issue though, what with Seoul being so close to the border.

Japan and the US would clearly side with the South in any battle, the really interesting question is how far north would the battle go before China and to a lesser extent Russia feel compelled to get involved. I'm not even going to try to predict that !

[CWEBNET]

Chicken legs!

[tipoo_]

right, N-Korea cant even feed its own people and it goes and does this...

[xcaliber94]

I'm reading some of the readers' comments to the article. I'm disappointed. I hoped there would be more insightful comments.

There was one post by jrs_skaz November 18, 2008 9:12 PM:
"...the really interesting question is how far north would the battle go before China and to a lesser extent Russia feel compelled to get involved. I'm not even going to try to predict that !"

Now there is an insightful comment. Someone's been reading history and current events, especially with China's increasing assertions and Russia's attempt to reassert itself. Both share a border with North Korea, both have interests in the region, and I believe both WILL NOT sit idly by and watch a war close to their backyards.

By the way, I think this is a waste of money, especially since they have problems keeping up with the notorious Defense Reform Act. Given the context of the Defense Reform Act, even though South Korea's military is superior to North Korea's attrition-based military, the South Korean military has bigger problems than considering this newer uniform set. I'm beginning to see similarities to the U.S. Army's Land Warrior program.

I can see this being used for the smaller-sized elite units within the ROK Army and Marines force structure, but not as a general equipment fielding.

(By the way, if you still think that the North can over run the South because of their numbers, you need to do some terrain analysis. At the very least, use Google Earth and look for likely avenues of approach and ask yourself if the terrain supports your view that the North can over run the South. Better yet, do a terrain walk, like the way I did a week ago. The ROK Army units will not let you get close to the the DMZ, with the exception of Panmunjon (from a designated DMZ-tour) or in one of the observatories in Yeoncheon, but there are roads that parallel the DMZ where you can see how the terrain favors the defender; even though the area is relatively flat, microterrain is not apparent until you're actually in front of it.)

[ithomas94]

There aren't more insightful comments because people don't research before they say anything.
Words are wasted much more now.

[coffee_shop]

that rifle is huge and stupid. if south korea ever gets in another conflict with another counter ull know who will be coming to their aid

[afterhours]

poor bastards might overrun the dmz heading south, but I doubt they'd get more than a few klicks before they fall feint from starvation. The South Koreans could overthrow the North in a few short weeks by lobbing cheeseburgers across the mine field with a trebuchet. Just have the wrappers say 'this is how we eat in the South'.

In the end, change in the North will only come from within.

Yes, I know ideology is strong on both sides of the border. And yes, the US has demonstrated just how poisonous ideology is over the last 8 years quite well, thank you. But let's face it -- dressing up like a StarWars action figure doesn't make for a better combat soldier. All it takes is for some crafty hackers to take that suit offline ... it will broadcast its presence everywhere with the radio and video links. Craft your anti-personnel targeting at the source of the radio bursts and mortor away. For every high-tech weapon advancement, there's a last-century way to defeat it.

Consider your viral options: set the suit environmental controls to malfunction (overheat or over-cool -- you choose) at a set time. Use the video packet captures to know just what your enemy is looking at, send belligerent and provocative 'commands' to these troops on the ground so that they follow orders and cause an altercation to which your side could respond via righteous indignation... oh, the possibilities are endless.

[crusadex]

As long as we get Warthogs first i don't care if the look like sonic the hedgehog.

[srleeplus3377]

just reading the comments are making go lol especiall cuz im a s. korean lawlz