South Korea Plans To Train Entire Military As 'Drone Warriors' (arstechnica.com)
- Reference: 0184173036
- News link: https://tech.slashdot.org/story/26/06/29/0228207/south-korea-plans-to-train-entire-military-as-drone-warriors
- Source link: https://arstechnica.com/ai/2026/06/south-korea-plans-to-train-entire-military-as-drone-warriors/
> The goal is to make drones a "universal combat tool" for all troops by training them to use drones like a "second personal weapon," said Ahn Gyu-back, South Korea's Minister of National Defense, in a June 26 briefing [2]reported by Reuters and other media outlets. The announcement coincides with broader plans to equip individual military units with more cheap and expendable drones for surveillance and strike missions, along with deploying more counter-drone lasers and microwave weapons.
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> Meanwhile, South Korea's former drone operations command headquarters that used to have direct command authority over combat units will be reorganized to focus on collaborating with South Korean industry on developing and procuring commercial drone technology, according to [3]The Korea Times . The South Korean defense minister specifically cited the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East as inspiring such military reforms with a focus on drone technologies... Ukraine's [4]use of drones and [5]military robots as a force multiplier to offset its numerical disadvantage on the battlefield versus Russia's larger military may carry special resonance for South Korea, given that the South Korean military's [6]current active-duty strength of 450,000 personnel faces a numerical disadvantage against North Korea's active-duty military consisting of more than 1.2 million soldiers...
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> The defense ministry is starting out by providing 11,000 "training drones" to military personnel this year, with the goal of eventually deploying 60,000 drones across the military by 2029. An additional complication comes from the South Korean military looking to procure drones with 100 percent domestically produced components and [7]no Chinese components due to security concerns, according to the defense minister's comments reported by Reuters... South Korean companies are building new military attack drones, but the defense ministry may struggle to find enough commercial drones made without Chinese components to train hundreds of thousands of military conscripts, said Min-Cheol Jung, a cofounder of the Team Retriever counter-drone red team based in South Korea, in a [8]War on the Rocks article.
[1] https://arstechnica.com/ai/2026/06/south-korea-plans-to-train-entire-military-as-drone-warriors/
[2] https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/south-korea-expand-drone-forces-train-500000-operators-ministry-says-2026-06-26/
[3] https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/amp/southkorea/politics/20260626/korea-overhauls-uav-command-structure-to-train-all-soldiers-to-operate-drones
[4] https://arstechnica.com/ai/2026/06/ukraines-one-time-test-used-fully-autonomous-drones-to-kill-russian-soldiers/
[5] https://arstechnica.com/ai/2026/04/ukraines-military-robot-surge-aims-to-offset-drone-risks-to-humans/
[6] https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/south-koreas-military-has-shrunk-by-20-six-years-male-population-drops-2025-08-10/
[7] https://arstechnica.com/ai/2026/06/as-china-looms-taiwan-makes-more-drones-for-defense-and-the-us-military/
[8] https://warontherocks.com/south-koreas-500000-drone-warriors-will-be-a-hollow-force/
We are in the future (Score:3)
"deploying more counter-drone lasers and microwave weapons" was just used in a serious military article.
The US needs to get on board too (Score:3)
Yes, I know the US already has drones. But the US military tends to have big, expensive ones. The wars of the future will rely on mass-production of small, cheap drones. The war with Iran demonstrated that, for all the billions the US spends on weapons, they can run out pretty quickly. Too many million-dollar Tomahawk Cruise missiles and not enough cheap, short-range drones.
The Great Equalization has begun. (Score:3)
These past two years have radically redefined what it means to be a military superpower. Nuclear weapons aside, all conventional forms of projected power are either obsolete or under significant pressure. And each time a new advancement is democratized, the problem is compounded,
I say "problem", but it's a problem for some and a relief for others. Small powers move to the middle, and so do great powers. The advantage of hundreds of billions in annual military investment is evaporating. And the barrier to entry is shrinking. Theoretical military matchups formerly seen as decisive, one-sided routs are not guaranteed except in that they will be immensely costly for the traditionally well-equipped.
It's like all the chess pieces are being returned to their origins, and the game starts over with different rules.
This... is going to be interesting.
Re: (Score:2)
> all conventional forms of projected power are either obsolete or under significant pressure.
[1]Drone [youtube.com] [2]defenses [youtube.com] [3]are coming [youtube.com].
Once the drone defense gets figured out, drones are just going to be another wrinkle in the strategy map.
[1] https://www.youtube.com/shorts/IlcGu-OlqIM
[2] https://www.youtube.com/shorts/1tbSQzPUSnI
[3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GPLsJ4FLuA
Re: (Score:2)
Once the drone defense gets figured out a way to mostly work around it will be encountered. Every countermeasure so far in the drone exchanges has been combatted, with various levels of success.
Makes sense (Score:2)
If you see an enemy 1000 meters out, no need to have extreme shooting accuracy. Send a drone out and take care of it.
Re: (Score:2)
If you're close enough to see an enemy, they already have multiple autonomous weapons coming for you.
Re: (Score:2)
Drones can be defeated by a mesh net. Bullets can't.
Despite the propaganda, they're not a wonder-weapon. I believe the record for most FPV drone hits survived by a single tank in Ukraine is now thirty-two, and it's normal for tanks to be hit ten times and still get back home alive. And against humans they're allegedly only about 10% effective.
It's also worth noting that Eastern Ukraine is ideal for drone warfare it's mostly flat and open. There's an interesting video on Youtube by a guy who worked with Ukra
Re: (Score:2)
There are now anti-net drones.
Good luck with that (Score:3)
> the South Korean military looking to procure drones with 100 percent domestically produced components and no Chinese components
Even if they do spend the next several years building up (an extremely expensive) drone production infrastructure they still have to go to China to buy the materials to build those components. While Western corporations were unloading low-profit mining and refining operations in favor of investments which would provide higher short term profits China saw an opportunity to take control of the very base of industrial production and now control most of the truly important material streams.
Re: (Score:3)
Ukraine seems to have done it in just 4 years of war. Their drone components are made primarily in Turkey, Germany, and the US. I don't see why South Korea couldn't find a way.
Re: Good luck with that (Score:2)
... and hosting the most aggressive military in the world - the one that is the cause of the world's problems. They're afraid of the wrong country...