Sparrow Returns to the Peninsula: Observations on North Korea’s May 15 Air Drills

On May 15, 2025, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attended live-fire drills of an elite fighter wing based in Pyongyang, and inspected new air-to-air and ground attack weapons. While some of these weapons are non-operational samples, they demonstrated Kim Jong Un’s will to pursue air force modernization. Although this effort will not overcome the comprehensive and systematic disadvantages of the Korean People’s Army (KPA) Air Force, the technologies showcased during the May 15 drills could further contribute to North Korea’s land-based air defence capabilities. This potential cannot be overlooked, as in any high-intensity war, land-based air defence is expected to play a more critical role than Pyongyang’s fighter jets in delaying the destruction of North Korea’s nuclear weapons.

Advanced Air-To-Air Missile (AAM) Not Ready Yet             

Although it may have appeared briefly in a KCTV report on the 2021 Self-defence Exhibition in Pyongyang, the May 15 air drill marked the official debut of North Korea’s advanced medium-range air-to-air missile (AAM). The missile has a layout similar to fourth-generation radar-guided AAMs such as the US AIM-120 and the Chinese PL-12 (Figure 1). Unlike earlier generations, fourth-generation radar-guided AAMs feature an active radar seeker that allows its launch aircraft to disengage as soon as the missile’s seeker locks on to the target, greatly increasing tactical flexibility and advantages for the launch aircraft.

However, in one of the KCNA photos from the May 15 drills, Kim Jong Un is seen standing in front of a MiG-29 fighter jet with one such advanced AAM mounted under its starboard wing. Notably, the missile was photoshopped into the image (Figure 2), suggesting that: 1) North Korea may be attempting to create the impression that the missile is nearing completion or already in active service, or 2) this AAM may still be in a relatively early development phase.

Sparrow Returns to the Peninsula?

During the May 15 drills, a MiG-29 apparently fired a previously unseen, and likely less advanced, mid-range AAM. This AAM, apparently also of radar guidance type, features large triangular control surfaces located at the midsection of the missile’s body, giving it a visual resemblance to the US AIM-7 Sparrow (Figure 3).

The Sparrow missile reached maturity in the 1980s, following two generations of development in radar guidance technology. The third-generation Sparrow, namely the AIM-7M/P variants and their foreign derivatives, remained the primary medium-range AAMs in Western air forces until the 1990s and 2000s, when they were gradually replaced by fourth-generation radar-guided missiles such as the AIM-120. Sparrows are all-the-way semi-active radar homing missiles. In this guidance mode, the launch aircraft’s radar continuously “illuminates” the target from launch to impact, allowing the missile to home in on the radar wave reflected from the target. Compared to active radar homing missiles, semi-active types offer limited tactical advantages.

Although the authenticity of the relevant KCNA photos (Figure 3) cannot yet be independently verified, the development of a less advanced radar-guided AAM appears logical for North Korea, given the relative simplicity of its engineering and manufacturing requirements (Figure 4). Despite tactical limitations, the third-generation Sparrow proved to be a potent air-to-air weapon, achieving a hit rate of over 50 percent during the 1991 Gulf War.^[1] With South Korea’s AIM-7M missiles retired in June 2024 alongside their launch platform, the F-4 Phantom, the possible induction of this “Juche Sparrow” would mark an intriguing return of the AIM-7 lineage to the Peninsula.

The fact that the People’s Liberation Army also operates a reverse-engineered version of the Sparrow, the PL-11 AAM, makes China a possible source of proliferation in this case. However, the core technologies underpinning the third-generation AIM-7 are now over 40 years old, and it is plausible that the “Juche Sparrow” is, for the most part, an indigenous development. This is particularly likely given that North Korea’s MiG-29s were originally equipped with Soviet R-27 AAMs, whose seeker technologies are roughly on par with those of the third-generation AIM-7.^[2]

Precision Glide Bombs From Exhibition Hall

In addition to the two types of domestically-developed radar-guided AAMs, Kim Jong Un also inspected two guided glide bombs: one apparently equipped with a satellite navigation kit, and the other with an optical terminal seeker. While the satellite-guided bomb is likely intended for use against fixed targets, the variant featuring a terminal optical seeker may not only offer greater accuracy, but could also be capable of engaging moving targets (such as ships), with the aid of mid-course correction commands from the launch aircraft.

However, serial numbers marked on the two bombs suggest they are most likely the same samples previously showcased to Kim Jong Un in May 2024 at the exhibition hall of the Academy of Defence Science (Figure 5).^[3] This indicates that these airborne ground-attack munitions are not yet operational, although they may have been carried aloft by a North Korean Saetbyol-9 drone during the 15 May drills in what the KCNA described as an “application test.”

The placement of these non-operational samples alongside the AIM-120/PL-12–type AAM further reinforces the assessment that the advanced AAM on display is also not yet ready for deployment.

Technical Implications and Future Possibilities

• The May 15 drills further demonstrated North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s will to pursue modernization of North Korea’s aging and obsolete air force to the extent possible. These modernization efforts (also including the recent development of airborne early warning aircraft and large surveillance drones) could potentially enhance Pyongyang’s air policing and surveillance capabilities during peacetime.
• With Western supplied guided bombs, the MiG-29s of the Ukrainian armed forces have effectively carried out strikes against Russian targets along the frontline. However, the war in Ukraine is largely a near-peer conflict. Considering the conventional military capability gap on the Peninsula, it remains questionable that the North’s MiGs could effectively deliver such strikes with domestic guided bombs.
• The apparent launch of a third-generation, semi-active radar homing AAM suggests that North Korea has adopted a parallel development approach, with a lower-end project serving as a fail-safe for a more advanced one. A domestically produced semi-active radar homing missile could also replace the MiG-29’s ageing R-27 AAM and potentially offer improved reliability.^[4]
• Though semi-active radar homing AAMs are inferior to the AIM-120s widely employed by the Republic of Korea (South Korea or ROK) and the US Forces Korea (USFK) air forces, the MiGs armed with semi-active radar homing AAMs may still be able to perform less demanding air defence tasks. In fact, a large part of the May 15 drill was focused on “anti-air mission to detect, track and destroy the enemy cruise missiles and suicidal drones attacking from different directions.”^[5] This relatively realistic setting suggests that the military leadership in Pyongyang is aware of the severe inadequacies of its fighter jet fleet.
• Even if North Korea’s active radar seeker AAMs enter service in the near future, and assuming Pyongyang receives advanced fighter jets or other military assistance from Russia, the ROK and USFK air forces would still enjoy comprehensive and systematic advantages. The only way for Pyongyang to overwhelm ROK and allied air forces remains nuclear strikes that destroy enemy assets on the ground.
• Disadvantages associated with semi-active radar homing guidance are far less significant for surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) and shipborne SAMs. Technologies of the AIM-7 formed the basis of the hugely successful RIM-7 SeaSparrow and the RIM-162 ESSM (Evolved SeaSparrow Missile), while China utilized similar technologies to build the HQ-6A missile-gun short-range air defence complex (Figure 6) to protect critical locations and facilities. The AIM-120, on the other hand, serves as the primary missile for the acclaimed NASAMS (National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System). In theory, Pyongyang might be able to follow a similar path to enhance its overall land-based air defence, an area that already saw some notable technological advances. In any high-intensity war, land-based air defence would play a far more critical role than the fighter jets in delaying the destruction of North Korea’s nuclear assets.
  

  

1. [1]

   Reportedly, of the 44 Sparrow missiles fired, 30 hit their targets and allegedly took down a total of 25 aircraft.

2. [2]

   Except that the R-27 variants have an autonomous flight phase aided by mid-course correction commands from the launch aircraft, which allows the launch aircraft to delay the radar lock, improving survivability and engagement flexibility. In fact, the R-27 outperforms the AIM-7 in many metrics on paper. However, China’s decision to reverse engineer the third-generation AIM-7 instead of the R-27 may suggest that the latter is less satisfactory in reality. This assessment is in line with non-open source opinions on the performance of exported R-27 missiles.

3. [3]

   The satellite guidance type was first revealed during a military parade on July 27, 2023.

4. [4]

   On paper, the R-27 outperforms the third-generation AIM-7 in many metrics. However, China’s decision to reverse engineer the third-generation AIM-7 instead of the R-27 may suggest that the latter is less satisfactory in reality. This assessment is in line with non-open source opinions on the performance of exported R-27 missiles.

5. [5]

   According to KCNA photos, subsonic anti-ship cruise missiles were used to simulate incoming cruise missiles.