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South Korea announced a plan to acquire 60,000 drones against North Korean threats
South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyo-baek announced that, drawing lessons from the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, they will supply tens of thousands of unmanned aerial vehicles to counter North Korea's growing drone threat.
South Korea announced a comprehensive military modernization plan against North Korea's increasing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) threats. Defense Minister Ahn Gyo-baek stated that the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East have shown that UAVs 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 no peace treaty was signed.
11,000 to enter service next year
Minister Ahn said the military initially planned to produce 110,000 UAVs by 2029, but that number was later revised to approximately 60,000. Of these, about 11,000 are targeted for delivery in 2026. The systems will be distributed to ground, naval, air, and marine units, making them a basic element for every soldier.
South Korea also aims to quickly add to its inventory the long-range attack UAV 'KAI LUCAS,' similar to the American 'LUCAS' system developed inspired by Iranian-made 'Shahed' UAVs.
Minister Ahn also conveyed that the military plans to acquire over 20,000 low-cost disposable UAVs, the source of which he did not specify. These vehicles consist of short-range reconnaissance and small attack UAVs called 'loitering munitions.'
Swarm operations with artificial intelligence
The ministry announced that AI-supported UAV swarms will be designed. Starting next year, air defense systems against UAVs will be deployed in border areas. In the longer term, directed energy weapons such as laser beams and high-power microwaves, as well as low-cost interceptor UAVs, will be developed.
Meanwhile, the South Korean Ministry of Defense reiterated its goal of training 500,000 'UAV warriors' who can use UAVs as a second individual weapon. The UAV Operations Command, established in 2023, will be transformed into a new UAV Defense Command.
The command had faced criticism following a UAV operation conducted over Pyongyang in October 2024 on the orders of then-President Yoon Suk-yeol. Yoon was sentenced to 30 years in prison for allegedly 'fabricating' a crisis to pave the way for an attempt to declare martial law.
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