Strategic Intelligence Scanning

The Soviet Antonov An-2, which has been generating headlines from North Korea, can perform a feat that seems impossible, says Stephen Dowling . In early April, North Korean media unveiled a new camouflage scheme for one of its most important military aircraft. The supreme leader himself, Kim Jong-Un, was seen on television footage at the controls of one of the spruced-up examples. But this was no sleek and nimble jet fighter ? it was a 1940s-era biplane that looks like a tractor with wings. North Korean An-2s could be used to fly low and slow over the border to drop commando teams behind South Korean lines ? so low that they would be difficult to pick up on radar. The key to the plane?s ability to hover ? and even fly backwards in the right conditions ? lie in the ?control surfaces? on the wings. At the front are flexible panels called leading edge slats. These are often deployed during landing, as they increase wind resistance and bring down the aircraft?s speed.