Commandos attack, and pirates die; South Korean navy show the world how to do anti-piracy
Posted by John Keller
The Americans and the British lately have been looking into advanced technologies that may have applications in countering Somali pirates operating in and around the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean. These technologies involve directed-energy weapons such as non-lethal lasers to distract and deter pirates, and high-power microwaves that could kill the engines on pirate boats.
Yet while the British and Americans have been talking about new high-tech approaches to anti-piracy , the South Korean navy is showing everyone in the world how to do it -- board captured ships and kill every pirate in sight.
Commandos from the South Korean navy stormed a ship earlier today that had been hijacked by Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean, killed at least eight of the pirates in cabin-to-cabin gunfights, captured five other pirates who wisely chose capture over death, and rescued all 21 hostages aboard the 11,500-ton chemical freighter.
The commando force suffered no injuries. The ship's captain suffered a non-life-threatening gunshot wound during the operation. The South Korean force had a little help from a nearby U.S. Navy aircraft carrier, which also provided a helicopter to transfer the wounded Korean ship's captain.
Those Korean sailors don't mess around, and that's the way it should be. "We will not tolerate any activities that threaten the safety and lives of our people," said South Korea President Lee Myung-Bak, who authorized the operation.
That's not too difficult to understand -- unlike, perhaps, non-lethal lasers and high-power microwaves.
John Keller is editor-in-chief of Military & Aerospace Electronics magazine, which provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronic and optoelectronic technologies in military, space, and commercial aviation applications. A member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since the magazine's founding in 1989, Mr. Keller took over as chief editor in 1995.
