Korea Opens State-Of-The-Art Aircraft Testing Center

The Agency for Defense Development (ADD) opened an aircraft testing facility in Seosan, Chungcheongnam-do (South Chungcheong Province) on Monday (Sept. 8), a first for Korea to measure the operational capabilities of aircraft, as well as large weapons systems such as armored vehicles, guided weapons and naval weapons, in extreme conditions. The state-of-the-art facility in this southwestern city, about 150 km from Seoul, measures 188,000 square meters, complete with an anechoic chamber for checking equipment for resistance to various electric waves, including lightning, and a climatic chamber for testing equipment under different weather conditions. The 100-billion won (US$91.2 million) facility is the second largest of its kind in the world, after the United States. The anechoic chamber is capable of testing mid-sized cargo planes and all kinds of fighter jets for resistance to various electric waves, electro-magnetic compatibility, electro-magnetic interference, electro-magnetic pulse, lightning, static electricity, and antenna properties. The climatic chamber is designed to test equipment in extreme weather conditions, including severe heat and intense cold, heavy snows and torrential rains, radiation from sunlight, and extreme humidity. As Korea's first comprehensive aircraft testing center, this facility will provide testing capabilities that are vital to the development of new fighter jets and weapons systems, while making epoch-making contributions to securing Korea's aircraft airworthiness certification. The ADD also plans to turn the new aircraft testing facility into a space and aviation hub by developing it as an international airworthiness testing and certifying authority by 2015.