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South Korea to Acquire 60,000 Drones Against North Korea's UAV Threat
South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyo-baek announced that, drawing lessons from the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, they will procure tens of thousands of drones against North Korea's growing UAV threat.
South Korea has announced a comprehensive military modernization plan in response to North Korea's growing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) threats. Defense Minister Ahn Gyo-baek stated that the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East have shown drones have become decisive weapons on the battlefield.
The 1950-53 conflict between the two Koreas, which are technically still at war, ended with an armistice, and a peace treaty was never signed.
11,000 to enter service next year
Minister Ahn said the military initially planned to produce 110,000 drones by 2029, but this number was later revised down to approximately 60,000. The goal is to receive about 11,000 of them by 2026. The systems will be distributed to army, navy, air force, and marine corps units.
South Korea also aims to quickly introduce the "KAI LUCAS," a long-range strike drone similar to the American "LUCAS" system developed based on Iranian-made "Shahed" drones.
Minister Ahn also conveyed that the military plans to acquire over 20,000 low-cost, single-use drones, without specifying the source. These vehicles consist of short-range reconnaissance drones and small attack drones referred to as "loitering munitions."
Swarm operations with artificial intelligence
The ministry announced that AI-enabled drone swarms will be designed. Starting next year, air defense systems against drones will be deployed in border areas. In the longer term, directed energy weapons, such as laser beams and high-powered microwaves, along with low-cost interceptor drones will be developed.
On the other hand, the South Korean Ministry of National Defense reiterated its target to train 500,000 "drone warriors" capable of using drones as a secondary individual weapon. The Drone Operations Command, established in 2023, will be transformed into a new Drone Defense Command.
The command had faced criticism following a drone operation over Pyongyang in October 2024, carried out on the orders of then-President Yoon Suk-yeol. Yoon was sentenced to 30 years in prison on the grounds that he "fabricated" a crisis to lay the groundwork for his attempt to declare martial law.
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