Kamikaze drones capable of diving into targets and exploding have begun appearing in the arsenals of modern military forces. The latest example is South Korea's "Devil Killer" drone capable of striking short-range targets in North Korea.
The "Devil Killer" can fly at speeds of almost 250 mph (400 kilometers per hour) and has a length of 5 feet (1.5 meters), according to The Korea Times. Such a weapon would have both video cameras and a navigation system to find and destroy North Korean military targets such as coastal artillery guns or speedy air-cushion "hovercraft" vehicles that might ferry North Korean troops in an assault on South Korea.
The Korea Aerospace Industries group began working on the unmanned aerial vehicle last January, and conducted a successful flight test in September. U.S. military forces have already begun using a similar concept – the "Switchblade" suicide drone that can fit inside a soldier's backpack and can loiter in the air until targets appear. Military researchers have also begun working on non-lethal suicide drones and even smaller versions capable of flying inside buildings.
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Tensions have remained high between South Korea and North Korea, two countries that have technically remained in a state of war since the Korean War in the early 1950s. In one recent incident, North Korean artillery killed two South Korean soldiers during a bombardment of a South Korean island in 2010.
Source: The Korea Times
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