South Korea to train 500,000 military personnel as drone operators

South Korea has announced a sweeping overhaul of its military training programme that will see all branches of the armed forces taught to operate drones. Defence Minister Ahn Gyu-back said the plan is intended to turn 500,000 authorised personnel across the army, navy, air force and marines into what the ministry described as "drone warriors". The announcement was made in Seoul on Friday and comes as the government seeks to adapt to what it sees as a rapidly changing battlefield.

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Ahn said soldiers should be able to use drones "like a second personal firearm", arguing that low-cost drones used in large numbers are changing the nature of warfare. He said conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East had shown drones to be a "game changer on the battlefield". The ministry also said North Korea continues to develop its weapons capabilities, increasing threats to military and civilian facilities in the South.

The plan is aimed at both training and procurement, with the armed forces set to receive about 11,000 commercial drones for training by the end of this year. The procurement plan is expected to expand sharply over the next few years. Seoul said the number of training drones would rise to 60,000 by 2029, alongside more than 20,000 low-cost disposable combat drones by 2030.

The military also plans to fast-track a domestically developed long-range loitering munition called K-Lucas. In parallel, South Korea said it would expand counter-drone systems, including laser and high-power microwave weapons, as part of the wider modernisation effort. The move reflects growing concern in Seoul about North Korea's drone capabilities and the wider security environment on the Korean peninsula.

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South Korean officials have pointed to North Korea's deepening military partnership with Russia as one factor behind Pyongyang's progress, saying it may have given access to battlefield data and tactics. That concern has been sharpened by the experience of 2022, when five small North Korean drones crossed into South Korean airspace, including one that entered the no-fly zone above the presidential office in Seoul. That incident exposed gaps in South Korea's air defences.

Jets and attack helicopters were scrambled, and about 100 shots were fired, but none of the drones was brought down. The new training and procurement plan suggests Seoul is now trying to prepare its forces for a conflict environment in which small, cheap and widely available drones could play a central role. It also indicates a broader shift toward integrating unmanned systems into routine military operations rather than treating them as specialist equipment.

What remains unclear is how quickly the training programme can be rolled out across all branches and how the new systems will be integrated with existing doctrine. It is also not yet clear how much the procurement drive will cost or how the domestic K-Lucas project will develop. The next stage to watch will be whether South Korea can match its stated ambitions with production, training capacity and counter-drone defences.

#SouthKorea #drones #militarymodernisation #NorthKorea #defencepolicy

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