
How North Korea Smuggled 87 US Scout Helicopters - SEJeff
http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/how-north-korea-smuggled-87-us-scout-helicopters-22638
======
throwanem
I'd hesitate to take these guys too seriously, seeing as one of the articles
linked from this one is a transparently absurd attempt to play up the _Kirov_
-class guided-missile cruisers, of which three out of the total four are
currently laid up, as a serious threat to US carrier strike groups, despite
the _Kirov_ armament being so heavily focused on surface-to-air work, i.e.
anti-air defense, that it barely bothers to carry any antisurface capability
at all. Another recommended article is a multi-part series insisting the only
sensible course of action available is that we invade North Korea now.

Looking at _National Interest_ 's about page, I find the first billed founder
is Irving Kristol - a man instantly recognizable to students of recent history
as the father of neoconservatism. You'll have to judge for yourself whether
the fruits of that particular political movement are such as to recommend the
unskeptical consideration of any claim advanced by its adherents - especially
when such claims tend in the direction of _another_ pointless, long drawn-out
fight that's of no ultimate benefit to anyone anywhere.

It might, for example, be mildly invidious to say that the same
"chickenhawks", who last decade suckered a credulous US leader into a new-
styled yet no less horrific and pointless Middle Eastern Vietnam, here show
that they have managed the - by some measure, very impressive! - feat of
learning absolutely nothing from their manifold and grievous errors - not even
the minimal good grace required to accept manfully the verdict of utter
discreditation which history has delivered upon them; and then, not satisfied
with the vast scope of human and economic ruin which they have already
wrought, they continue to insist that their _soi-disant_ "New American
Century", to the very greatest possible extent, be one of utterly pointless
blood and fire.

But were someone to say something of the sort, one might, after consideration
of relevant recent history, perhaps hesitate to castigate that person very
harshly for so doing.

~~~
SEJeff
This was a reprint in a pretty fascinating military website
[http://warisboring.com/](http://warisboring.com/). I just figured I'd link to
the source and not the reprint. I don't disagree with much of any of your
analysis, just thought the story (as it is actual history) was fascinating.

~~~
throwanem
At least one of the NI authors whose articles I read this morning also writes
for War is Boring. Not sure if it's this one and no time to double check, but
I think it might be.

~~~
topgear25
It is, you're right.

------
pavement
_tl;dr_ They simply bought them through Soviet front companies, operating in
West Germany. Instead of trucking them to ports for shippment to NATO
countries, they trucked them to a Soviet freighter, and floated them to North
Korea.

    
    
      Hey, we’re buying helicopters, and we’re shipping them here. 
      Surprise! They get shipped somewhere else.
    

To maintain cover for a bugging operation, Western allies only busted the last
shipment of 15, as a check on the operation, as if to say “ _oh look, we see
you, but how?_ ”

Meanwhile, the intended purpose was to mingle with South Korean vehicles of
the same make and model, over the DMZ, by matching paint jobs, so as to be
extra confusing, opportunistically.

The article seems to exclude details regarding a mysterious entity named “The
Semler Brothers” which are mentioned twice, but uh... wait, who?

Out of nowhere that name is dropped, and why? Who are they? Is this some kind
of hamfisted redaction bleeding through from the research for the article?
Slightly mysterious.

------
toomanybeersies
They also managed to smuggle in a PAC 750, made in New Zealand, last year
([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PAC_P-750_XSTOL](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PAC_P-750_XSTOL)).
They're designed to be used to drop parachutists, as well as fly low level for
crop dusting, and have an extremely short take-off distance of 220 m.

It turns out that PAC was aware that the plane (or planes) were going to North
Korea and provided training to pilots in China.
([https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/96724372/pacific-
aerospace-...](https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/96724372/pacific-aerospace-
guilty-of-unlawful-exports-to-north-korea))

~~~
gaius
_They 're designed to be used to drop parachutists_

Recreational skydivers are a world away from airborne troops, I was expecting
something like a Hercules when I clicked the link! With all their gear you
could probably put a single section in one of those, a Hercules can
comfortably handle two whole platoons!

~~~
toomanybeersies
It would be a lot easier to sneak one of these across the border and insert a
special forces team, than to try and fly a Hercules across the border.

This is why North Korea is such a fan of the AN-2, a seemingly deprecated
piston powered biplane. But it has STOL capabilities, and no effective stall
speed. It can be flown low and slow, perfect for evading hostile air defense.

~~~
jacquesm
He's not kidding:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3tpV9vUTPo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3tpV9vUTPo)

------
dingaling
> Pyongyang kept its substantial MD 500 fleet under wraps for decades,

Well only to the extent that NK keeps everything under wraps. Their possession
of the MD500s was well-known by the mid-1980s and South Korean authorities
used to order snap-groundings of the type. Any still flying were treated
'robustly'.

------
Walf
Plot twist: it was intentional and they're equipped with remote self-destruct
and/or tracking devices.

~~~
gaius
They are too small and simple a design to conceal anything like that from
mechanics working on them. You could arrange for them to be made from
substandard materials I suppose. That doesn't seem to be the case here tho'.

------
SerLava
Every time I scroll on this damned website, a blank black 1 second video pops
up and covers the screen and then goes back up into the upper left corner.

