The Taepodong-2 Strike
At 22:00, Colonel Lee ordered the submarine to surface near the water's surface to detach the towed array antenna. "Detach towed antenna!" Following the command, the officers pressed the release switches, and the sonar technician slowed the submarine's speed. The communications officer tuned into the pre-arranged frequency and verified the incoming data. After cross-referencing the information with a petty officer to ensure no errors, the officer delivered the memo to Colonel Lee. The Colonel verified the coordinates, which included latitude and longitude, and immediately handed them to the NIS agent.
"The coordinates have arrived from headquarters. We are scheduled to arrive in the operational area by 24:00."
"We will begin preparations immediately."
The NIS agent took the coordinates and headed to the submarine's mess hall. Because the cramped interior of the submarine offered no space to assemble the cardboard drones, they began unpacking the Switchblade Type-A kits in the mess hall.
"The submarine is too small. We'll assemble only the fuselage and wings here, then finish the rest once we surface," the agent said.
"What about the satellite coordinate values?"
"Let's input those in advance!"
The NIS agents began assembling the Switchblade units as they had been trained. Once the GPS guidance systems in the fuselages were secured, they entered the coordinates from the memo into the terminals. To be safe, the agents took turns cross-checking each other's work.
Upon reaching the target area, Colonel Lee Kwang-moon requested a status report from the sonar technician. "Chief Petty Officer Park! Is there anything on the sonar?"
"I've checked the acoustic signatures, sir. Nothing detected."
"Check again, just in case!"
After ordering a secondary check, Colonel Lee summoned the NIS agents to the bridge. "We are currently 60km from Musudan-ri. Shall we surface now?"
The agents nodded in agreement. Colonel Lee confirmed once more that the sonar was clear and slowly brought the submarine to the surface. He pressed his eyes to the periscope, scanning the horizon one last time before breaking the surface to ensure no ships were nearby.
"Time is 24:00, surfacing!"
As the submarine slowly breached the water, crew members armed with rifles exited first, followed by the NIS agents, who carefully carried the assembled Switchblade drones through the hatch. Considering they were in North Korean waters, Colonel Lee personally stepped onto the deck, night-vision goggles in hand, to scan the surroundings. The agents finished attaching the wings to the fuselages, and to prevent the drones from getting soaked by seawater, they asked the crew to hold them aloft.
Once all ten Switchblade drones were assembled, the agents powered them on and launched them toward Musudan-ri one by one. With a faint whirring sound, each drone took flight. After the final unit was launched, the agents signaled the completion to Colonel Lee. He sent the agents back inside first, followed by himself, and sealed the hatch.
"Exiting North Korean waters immediately. Submerge!"
"Submerge!"
With a sense of relief, Colonel Lee set the course not for the south, but toward international waters, and the submarine began its slow descent. With the Colonel's permission, the NIS agent grabbed the radio before they went too deep.
"Ten Switchblade units launched! Withdrawing as of 00:15!"
After transmitting the pre-arranged code, the agent looked around at the crew in the control room. "Thank you for your cooperation in this operation."
The crew remained silent, focused intently on their consoles. Colonel Lee simply nodded, his nerves taut as he navigated to clear the North Korean sector.
After receiving word from the Navy headquarters that the Switchblade drones had been launched, Section Chief Choi shouted to the Starlink staff and NIS agents. "The operation has begun. Get the real-time satellite data up!"
While Section Chief Choi Jae-ho monitored the situation via satellite, North Korean scientists were deep in preparations for the ICBM launch.
"Move faster! We have to launch it before dawn to avoid the American surveillance net."
Choi Il-guk, the Director of the National Defense Academy of the Missile Bureau, was responsible for the launch. Knowing his life depended on this ICBM, he pushed his scientists relentlessly. Fortunately, the self-diagnostic equipment showed no faults, but he ordered another check just to be safe. Once he confirmed the Taepodong-2 was properly seated on the launch pad, he moved to the control room and picked up the phone.
"The Taepodong-2 is on the pad, and we are conducting final checks."
After finishing the call, Director Choi, hearing that the Dear Leader would arrive on time, spurred his scientists on once more. With time still remaining before the launch, he stepped outside with a cigarette. As he lit it to calm his nerves, he heard a whirring sound from the sky and looked up.
"Comrade! Do you hear that?"
At his question, the accompanying guidance bureau director also looked up toward the sound. Suddenly, a massive explosion rocked the launch pad, and Director Choi dropped his cigarette as flames erupted.
"E-emergency! It's an enemy attack!"
With a deafening roar, objects continued to rain down on the launch pad, and explosions tore through the building they had just exited. As the assembly building was engulfed in flames, the two men scrambled backward, desperate to find cover.
At the Starlink ground control station, the team was taking satellite photos of the Musudan-ri site every five minutes. The NIS agent who spotted red flames in the latest download reported it urgently.
"Target area flames detected!"
Section Chief Choi Jae-ho ordered the image to be enlarged. Seeing the launch pad engulfed in fire, he ordered an analysis. "What about the ICBM and the assembly plant?"
The Starlink staff and NIS agents analyzing the zoomed-in photo reported, "The launch pad has collapsed to the side. Flames are also observed at the assembly plant, but the extent of the damage is obscured by the fire. For now, it appears the ICBM has been completely neutralized."
"Check it one more time!"
The agents waited for the next image and analyzed the situation five minutes later. The area around the launch pad had completely collapsed due to secondary explosions of liquid fuel, and the warehouse presumed to be the assembly plant remained engulfed in flames. They reported this to Section Chief Choi.
After reporting the damage at Musudan-ri to his superiors, Section Chief Choi said, "I thank the Starlink staff for their help in today's operation. We will provide a small token of appreciation for your assistance, and I ask that you keep today's events strictly confidential."
The Starlink staff, exhausted, rubbed their faces and stood up, while the NIS agents began preparing for withdrawal, saving the satellite photos of the site onto a USB drive.
The next morning, North Korean broadcasts announced that there had been a U.S. military attack on their satellite rocket launch site and vowed retaliation. Taesik, having been briefed on the details by Director Park Kyung-hoon, watched the news of North Korea vowing retaliation against the U.S. rather than South Korea.
"Director Park, why is North Korea threatening retaliation against the U.S.?"
"Hahaha. I suppose they think South Korea wouldn't dare launch a preemptive strike against them. There will be an announcement from the U.S. side soon."
After the North Korean report, the U.S. military issued a briefing stating they had no connection to the Musudan-ri explosion. Taesik granted leave to the employees involved in the NIS operation and instructed them to get plenty of rest.
The NIS did not issue any press briefings regarding the explosion, providing information only to U.S. intelligence agencies that they had conducted the operation in North Korea and successfully destroyed the ICBM launch site. The U.S. military was astonished that South Korea had acted without their help and inquired about the weapons used. The NIS replied that they had used suicide drones made of unmarked cardboard.
North Korea searched the area for evidence of U.S. intervention but found nothing but scorched circuit boards. Without evidence, they continued to broadcast threats of revenge against the U.S. military.
By the time the news regarding the Taepodong-2 died down, Taesik received a report from Starlink Aviation that the AESA radar integration tests for the T-50 aircraft were complete, and he visited Sacheon. Starlink Aviation was moving into mass production of the T-50 advanced trainer while simultaneously developing the TA-50 tactical lead-in fighter. With the modification of the AESA radar, it was now being equipped in place of the existing mechanical radar.
"How did the AESA radar perform?"
"According to our pilots, it has a longer detection range and can track smaller objects compared to the existing mechanical radar. It's also being evaluated as having superior performance in air-to-ground mode."
Since the requirements for the TA-50 tactical lead-in fighter originally specified a mechanical radar, Taesik checked the Ministry of National Defense's stance.
"Is the Ministry of National Defense saying they will change the military requirements?"
"They are willing to change the requirements without increasing development costs. We calculated the unit cost ourselves, and at the current budget, it's a deficit."
"Then are they saying it's possible to proceed with mass production without covering the increased development costs?"
"Yes. They said they would reflect it in the mass production unit cost. They are asking Starlink to absorb the development costs. Is that acceptable?"
Taesik decided that Starlink Aviation would absorb the development costs for the sake of future exports, despite the immediate deficit. "For now, let's absorb the costs and apply it starting with the TA-50. However, we need to increase its armament capability for export purposes. Did the Ministry of National Defense agree to that?"
"Yes. We have decided to proceed with integration tests for the AIM-120 AMRAAM missile in addition to the AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missile."
Hearing that they would test everything from short-range to long-range air-to-air missiles, he checked the types of air-to-ground missiles to be integrated.
"If we proceed with the AMRAAM integration, the air-to-air missile issue is solved, but the problem is air-to-ground missiles. Besides the JDAM and Maverick missiles, are there any additional missiles being integrated?"
"We are planning to add the Magnum as well."
"The air-to-ground armament is a bit lacking. I'll have to find a way to add more with Starlink Defense."
Taesik considered developing an additional 500-pound class guided bomb with President Park In-tak of Starlink Defense and checked the status of the medium-altitude UAV development.