June 26, 2026
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 Defence Ministry said on Friday.
Defence 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 about 60,000, with around 11,000 to be introduced in 2026.
It said the systems would be issued across services, aiming to make drones a standard item for individual soldiers.
"Drones should no longer be equipment used by a limited number of units, but a universal combat tool," Ahn told a briefing, adding they should be used by troops like a "second personal weapon."
