With drones emerging as a key weapon on the battlefield, a call has been made for Korea to establish a "sovereign defense drone" strategy built on its own technology and industrial base.
It argues that an approach similar to "sovereign AI," which seeks to secure technological sovereignty in the defense sphere, is also needed in the drone industry.
As cheap drones usher in an era where they threaten traditional weapons systems worth tens of billions of won, drone competitiveness is emerging as a key factor that determines national security.
Yun Yong-jin, a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at KAIST, said in a written interview with ChosunBiz on the 17th, "Recently, drones are changing the battlefield's 'value exchange structure,'" adding, "The biggest shift is that drones built at a relatively low expense can threaten traditional weapons systems worth tens of billions of won."
Yun added, "We need to foster the related industry at the national strategy level so we can autonomously develop defense drone technology and build a structure that leads through production and operation," emphasizing the point. Yun currently serves as head of the KAIST specialized research institute for defense drones.
The core power of war has changed over time. In the past, tank-centered armored forces dominated the battlefield, and later air power centered on fighter jets took the lead.
In recent decades, long-range missiles and air defense networks have been at the center of military strategy. But the rise of drones is shaking this traditional force structure.
Yun said, "Drones are more than a simple attack means; they are a multipurpose platform that simultaneously conducts reconnaissance, jamming, and strikes," adding, "They serve as a kind of 'joker on the battlefield' that enables more efficient operation of existing forces."
In actual combat, the influence of drones is expanding rapidly. A representative case is the Russia-Ukraine war. In this war, FPV (first-person view) suicide drones have been deployed in large numbers, normalizing tactics that target high-value equipment such as tanks and armored vehicles.
A similar pattern has recently appeared in the Middle East. Amid military tensions with the United States and Israel, Iran is using suicide drones to strike key facilities.
In particular, Patriot missiles costing about $4 million (about 5.9 billion won) per interceptor have been used to shoot down low-cost drones priced at about $30,000 (about 44 million won) each, drawing attention as a prime example of "asymmetric power" in terms of cost-effectiveness.
Even as the strategic importance of drones grows, Korea's defense drone industrial base has not fully matured. In particular, Chinese corporations such as DJI hold high market shares in the commercial drone market, leaving the domestic manufacturing ecosystem vulnerable.
Yun stressed, "For Korea to secure competitiveness in defense drones, an approach at the national strategy level is necessary." He argued that defense drone technology should be viewed in a manner similar to the government's current push for "sovereign AI."
Sovereign AI is the concept of controlling and operating AI technology, data, infrastructure, and operating systems domestically without external dependence. It is a strategy to secure core technological sovereignty in the AI era.
Yun said, "Because defense is directly tied to national sovereignty, rather than relying on foreign countries for core technologies and supply chains, we need a structure that autonomously develops technologies suited to our environment and achieves consolidation through production and operation."
He explained that an ecosystem must be built that combines AI autonomous flight technology, airframe production capability, parts supply chains, and battlefield data analysis systems.
Building an open ecosystem regardless of corporation size is also necessary. Yun said, "It is important to have a structure in which the corporations that can best implement the relevant technologies participate, regardless of size, including large corporations and startups."
Yun emphasized that if Korea actively leverages the manufacturing capabilities that are a strength of its defense industry, it can significantly boost competitiveness in defense drones.
He said, "Korea is a country with strengths in mass production and rapid supply," adding, "We need to establish a drone system that can be produced cheaply and quickly, while also securing the capability to operate it effectively in actual combat."
Ultimately, in his view, drone competitiveness is not merely an industrial policy issue but a matter of security strategy. Yun said, "With drones changing the conduct of war, relying on foreign countries for core technologies and production systems can be risky in the long term," adding, "Securing defense drone technology domestically is no longer a choice but an essential strategic task."
The battlefield is also expected to shift increasingly toward unmanned systems. He said, "The greatest loss in war is, in the end, human life," adding, "Rather than deploying troops directly, countries are advancing technologies to conduct combat using unmanned systems."