South Korea says to train 500,000 'drone warriors' to counter North Korea
The ministry will also buy more than 20,000 low-cost drones and shift combat control to the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps.
- On Friday, Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back announced the disbandment of the Drone Operations Command, establishing a new National Defense Drone Headquarters to centralize drone policy while transferring operational functions to individual military branches.
- Scrutiny over the previous command's role in a 2024 drone incursion into North Korea prompted the reorganization, following the recent 30-year prison sentence handed to former President Yoon Suk Yeol.
- The military plans to acquire more than 20,000 low-cost drones and train 500,000 "drone warriors," aiming to make unmanned systems a universal combat tool as ubiquitous as personal weapons for soldiers.
- By 2029, Seoul aims to field 110,000 drones using 100% domestically produced components, accelerating deployment of AI-based swarm technologies and the K-Lucas long-range loitering munition to counter North Korean threats.
- Lessons from conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East drive this pivot toward "affordable mass" assets, reducing reliance on expensive, limited conventional missiles and fundamentally changing modern warfare doctrine.
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Bangkok Post
South Korea to train 500,000 'drone warriors' to counter North Korea
South Korea will rapidly expand its drone and counter-drone capabilities to counter North Korea, including by training 500,000 "drone warriors" and distributing tens of thousands of unmanned systems across frontline units, the Defense Ministry said on Friday (June 26).
South Korea to Train 500,000 ‘Drone Warriors’ for DMZ Duty
The South Korean Defense Ministry on Friday announced an ambitious plan to train 500,000 “drone warriors” who would integrate unmanned vehicles more fully into the armed forces, in a counter to North Korea’s increasing use of drones. The post South Korea to Train 500,000 ‘Drone Warriors’ for DMZ Duty appeared first on Breitbart.
South Korea plans to train entire military as "drone warriors"
South Korea plans to train every single member of its nearly half-million-strong military to operate drones as easily as they handle personal firearms. That ambitious goal was announced as the South Korean military seeks to maintain a technological edge in its 70-year border standoff with the larger military of a hostile North Korea. The goal is to make drones a “universal combat tool” for all troops by training them to use drones like a “second…
South Korea has conducted military drills to test its defensive capabilities against one of the biggest threats on the modern battlefield – coordinated drone attacks. During the exercises on the country’s west coast, 50 drones were used to simulate a “swarm” attack, imitating new war scenarios where large numbers of unmanned devices attack simultaneously from different directions. South Korea’s defense systems were reportedly able to neutralize …
SKorea Says to Train 500,000 'Drone Warriors' to Counter NKorea
South Korea will rapidly expand its drone and counter-drone capabilities to counter North Korea, including by training 500,000 "drone warriors" and distributing tens of thousands of unmanned systems across frontline units, the Defense Ministry said on Friday. Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back said the military planned to produce 110,000 drones by 2029 for deployment across the army, navy, air force and marines, but the ministry later revised this to…
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