South Korea trains half million UAV operators and abandons Chinese parts - Reuters
South Korea’s Ministry of Defense has officially announced the launch of a large-scale drone reform of its armed forces. By 2029, the country plans to deploy 110,000 drones and train half a million qualified operators.
This was reported by Censor.NET, citing Reuters.
Details
According to South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-bak, the radical expansion of the drone fleet will encompass the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps. Tens of thousands of drones will be integrated directly into frontline units.
As part of its new strategy, Seoul plans to radically upgrade its technological capabilities:
- The deployment of intelligent swarm systems of unmanned aerial vehicles and the widespread use of loitering munitions (kamikaze drones).
- The procurement of more than 20,000 inexpensive single-use UAVs.
- Expanding the capabilities for countering enemy drones using laser weapons.
- For national security reasons, the share of components from China in new systems will be zero—the focus will be exclusively on domestic production and civilian innovation.
Why Is the Reform Taking Place Now?
The main driver of these changes has been the experience of the war in Ukraine and conflicts in the Middle East, which have demonstrated that massive attacks by low-cost UAVs can completely alter the course of hostilities. In addition, North Korea is actively improving its own unmanned systems, posing a direct threat to South Korean military and civilian targets.
An additional domestic factor for Seoul has been an acute demographic crisis—due to a shortage of conscripts, the military has been forced to urgently switch to automation.
