US helicopters appear in North Korea's parade

North Korea surprised the world by displaying US-made Hughes 500E helicopters and MQM-107D drones in a military parade on July 27, 2013.

All Hughes 500Es participating in the parade were armed with AT-3 Sagger anti-tank missiles, which were domestically produced by North Korea based on a Soviet (Russian) design.

The presence of Hughes 500E helicopters in the North Korean military has long been confirmed after these aircraft were first shipped from the US through legal arms sales to allies.

North Korean armed Hughes 500E helicopter.

They were then illegally acquired by North Korea through a "roundabout" route both geographically and legally. The Hughes 500E helicopters were loaded onto Russian transport ships and passed through three cities: Hong Kong, Rotterdam and Antwerp.

The Hughes 500 helicopter is the previous version of the MD 500 helicopter in the US military. This is a product researched and designed by Hughes Helicopter (USA) since the 1970s.

The helicopter is designed in the traditional style with the main rotor (4 blades) on top of the body and the helicopter is 9.4m long, 2.48m high, rotor diameter 8.03m, maximum take-off weight 1.15 tons. The cabin looks quite like an "egg", compact, it only allows a maximum of 7 people (including 1-2 pilots and 5 passengers).

Hughes 500 is equipped with Alison 250-C20B turbine engine with 420 horsepower, allowing to reach a maximum speed of 282km/h, a range of 429km, and a ceiling of 4,877m.

Originally designed for civilian use, it can easily be converted to military use. According to some sources, of the 87 Hughes 500s North Korea operates, the country has modified at least 60 to carry weapons for attack.

This modification allows the Hughes 500 to attack light armored vehicles or provide fire support for ground units. Additionally, the aircraft can also perform reconnaissance missions if needed. However, as a civilian variant, it will lack the necessary reconnaissance equipment, so this capability may be limited.

Also at this parade, a new weapon North Korea displayed, considered a copy of the US-made UAV, the MQM-107D. These UAVs were secretly purchased by North Korea from Syria.

Notably, North Korea once again surprised the world on the 60th anniversary of the end of the war, Pyongyang decided to display the USS Pueblo, a US spy ship captured by the DPRK in the late 1960s.

This is the only US warship that has been captured by a foreign country and is still in active service with the US Navy. By displaying the USS Pueblo, North Korea hopes it will be a convincing symbol of anti-American sentiment during the war and the current development of nuclear weapons.