South Korea launches drone headquarters amid North Korean threats — Korea Herald
South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense has launched a new drone headquarters in Pocheon, tasked with developing unmanned systems and counter-drone capabilities amid North Korea’s expanding capacities in this area. The opening ceremony was held about 40 kilometers north of Seoul, attended by Vice Defense Minister Lee Do-hee and military officials, Korea Herald reports.
New coordination center
The headquarters replaced the previous Drone Operations Command. The new structure is to formulate strategies for the use of drones and countermeasures against them, as well as coordinate the development of relevant systems for all branches of the armed forces. The previous command primarily conducted drone operations.
Under the new model, individual military branches will be responsible for combat and strike use of drones and counter-drone systems, while the Joint Chiefs of Staff will coordinate operations overall. The headquarters will also facilitate the accelerated acquisition of drones and systems to defend against them in cooperation with the state arms agency.
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Procurement and localization
Seoul is introducing an expedited certification system for commercial drones and related equipment, similar to the U.S. Blue Unmanned Aircraft Systems program. This is intended to allow the military to purchase ready-made systems faster without the usual delays in procurement procedures.
South Korea also plans to localize the production of drones and their components, including batteries and engines, in order to reduce dependence on China. The ministry said it intends to quickly procure more than 20,000 low-cost one-way combat drones and accelerate the Korean Low-Cost Uncrewed Combat Attack System program, which provides for the development of domestically produced long-range loitering munitions, including kamikaze drones.
According to the ministry, North Korea is accelerating drone development by using the experience gained from deploying its troops in the Russian Federation’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Last week, Pyongyang conducted tests simulating mass drone strikes on mock-ups of South Korean military posts and U.S. tanks.
