As conflicts increase around the world, cost-effective "suicide drones" are drawing attention. Ukraine and Russia face massive defense expenditure as the war drags on.
The Ukrainian military recently released footage of two $500 (about 660,000 won) suicide drones destroying a Russian T-90 tank worth $3 million (about 3.9 billion won) to break Russian troops' morale. North Korea unveiled its own suicide drone last year, prompting calls in Korea to secure drone technology domestically.
In Korea, Pablo Air, a drone specialist corporations founded in 2018, is developing suicide drone technology. Pablo Air has staged drone shows using swarm flight technology. It showcased the Olympic rings drone show at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics, and last year it staged a drone show with 1,068 drones equipped with fireworks, earning a spot in the Guinness World Records.
This year, Pablo Air unveiled the S10s suicide drone, making a full-fledged entry into the defense industry. Along with suicide drones, Pablo Air is developing military reconnaissance and surveillance drones, swarm flight systems, and battlefield-operational autonomous flight drones.
The S10s drone carries a lightweight warhead of up to 1 kilogram and conducts "salvo strike" operations in which multiple drones strike a target simultaneously. In addition to simultaneous attacks, it also executes staggered attacks. Its operational radius is within the distance that can be covered in 30 minutes of flight time.
The S10s uses a modular architecture to enable rapid swapping of mission equipment. Using foam board (a lightweight board made of Styrofoam) keeps it light, and it generates its own routes and avoids collisions. Whereas general drones enter with a collision angle of 15 to 20 degrees, this model strikes at 45 degrees, yielding much greater explosive force.
Recently, by acquiring Volk, a defense precision machining corporations with Mil-spec (military specification) certification, it secured mass-production capability and manufacturing infrastructure. It is effectively the only corporations in Korea capable of mass-producing military drones. The S10s is reportedly producible for about 5 million to 6 million won.