South Korea to train 500,000 'drone warriors' in new military strategy
by Thomas Maresca · UPISEOUL, June 26 (UPI) -- South Korea unveiled a sweeping plan Friday to rapidly expand the military's drone and counter-drone capabilities, citing lessons from modern conflicts and North Korea's growing military cooperation with Russia.
The Defense Ministry's new strategy calls for acquiring more than 20,000 low-cost reconnaissance and loitering drones by 2030 and accelerating the deployment of homegrown K-Lucas long-range suicide drones. It also calls for expanding counter-drone capabilities with technologies including laser weapons, high-power microwave systems and interceptor drones.
The plan seeks to train 500,000 "drone warriors" across all branches of the military, Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back said at a press briefing Friday, so that "all soldiers have the ability to use drones as a second personal weapon."
"This is a weapon system that anyone can easily handle like a personal firearm," Ahn said.
To support that goal, the ministry plans to introduce about 11,000 Korean-made training drones by the end of this year and roughly 60,000 by 2029, enough to provide a drone for each squad across the armed forces.
Ahn said recent conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East had demonstrated that low-cost drones had become "game changers" on the battlefield, fundamentally altering the character of warfare.
Officials said the initiative aims to strengthen South Korea's domestic drone industry by expanding military purchases of Korean-made systems, establishing a military certification program for commercial drones and streamlining procurement rules.
The ministry also plans to rapidly field low-cost interceptor drones along frontline areas and key facilities while developing directed-energy weapons, including laser and high-power microwave systems.
The announcement comes as North Korea continues to modernize its military and deepen defense cooperation with Russia. Pyongyang has deployed troops and weapons in support of Moscow's war in Ukraine and is widely believed to be receiving advanced military technology in return, as the North rapidly expands its own drone capabilities.
Earlier Friday, North Korean state media said that leader Kim Jong Un had supervised tests of new artillery and missile systems, including a tactical missile warhead that was "aimed at inflicting fatal damage on major targets including airfields, ports and power facilities of the enemy."
"Since North Korea is currently receiving technology transfer from Russia, we decided that we urgently need to proactively respond to various changes in the war operation environment," Ahn said.
The plan also calls for reorganizing South Korea's Drone Operations Command into a new National Defense Drone Headquarters under the Defense Ministry.
The Drone Operations Command has come under scrutiny since prosecutors alleged it carried out drone incursions into North Korea on former President Yoon Suk Yeol's orders ahead of his failed December 2024 declaration of martial law. Earlier this month, a Seoul court sentenced Yoon to 30 years in prison after finding he had ordered the operation in an effort to provoke cross-border tensions and justify the decree.
Ahn said the reforms would make drones "a universal means of combat" across the military rather than a capability confined to specialized units.