North Korea presented a drone at the 2023 exhibition of armament equipment, which was a sight to behold.
Although the fuselage flag is North Korean, the appearance is very similar to the "Global Hawk", which many people mistakenly believe is an American product.
However, after fact-checking, the drone was actually independently developed by North Korea.
So, how did North Korea acquire this advanced drone technology?
At this exhibition, in addition to the high-profile Global Hawk UAV, there is also a UAV that is extremely similar to the American MQ-9 Reaper.
North Korea's exhibition is not only eye-catching, but also amazing.
You must know that these two UAVs of the United States are also the top in the world, even surpassing countries such as Britain and France, and even China and Russia cannot match them.
Therefore, there are doubts that the drone shown by the DPRK may be a "replica".
But even then, what about how well the DPRK can get a replicable aircraft from **?
According to previous information, the drone may have come from Iran. In 2018, Iran once captured an MQ-9 Reaper.
A year later, Iran shot down an RQ-4A Global Hawk drone, and everyone thought they would not be able to salvage it in the deep sea, but only three months later, Iran made a stunned display of the wreckage of the drone.
Given Iran's relations with North Korea, it is not surprising that the wreckage was sent to North Korea for study.
But why doesn't Iran develop it on its own, but instead benefits North Korea?
In fact, Iran has a variety of types of drones, and there is no shortage of models that can be used in combat, while North Korea is relatively backward in this area and has not had large drones before.
Moreover, the Global Hawk is huge in size and has various advanced systems inside, and the cost and time of research are too high for Iran.
Still, North Korea's ability to create a drone similar to the American RQ-4A Global Hawk in a short period of time is impressive.
Despite the fact that the North Korean version of the Global Hawk has a performance gap compared to the American one, it is enough for the North Korean army to be able to create and use it.
They can slowly upgrade other technologies, and they have already surpassed some countries in missile technology.
Even if the equipped systems are not advanced enough, they can be compensated for by missile technology, which should not be underestimated.