The Ministry of National Defense is pushing a plan to purchase more than 17,000 training drones next year to train "500,000 drone warriors." The calculation is that about 60,000 in total are needed to deploy one drone per squad by 2029. As drones have become essential weapons in modern warfare, the ministry's goal is to support all service members so they can handle them proficiently. The plan also carries the intention of invigorating the domestic drone ecosystem to secure both "self-reliant security" and "industry promotion."
According to the Ministry of National Defense on the 16th, it is pushing a plan to purchase more than 17,000 training drones next year. That is an increase of about 6,000 compared with the roughly 11,000 brought in this year. The ministry aims to gradually increase purchases and secure a total of 60,000 training drones by 2029. A Ministry of National Defense official said, "They will be supplied first to the Army starting in the fourth quarter of this year, and from next year to the Navy and Air Force as well," adding, "Each service is developing a training system suited to its characteristics."
The Ministry of National Defense's large-scale drone purchases follow the "training 500,000 drone warriors" policy announced in September last year. Just as everyone who has served in the military handles the K2 rifle regardless of their billet, the plan is to enable all service members to operate drones. A Ministry of National Defense official said, "If service members wish, we intend to support them so they can obtain a national drone pilot license before discharge."
Drones have established themselves as essential equipment in modern warfare. From the basic function of identifying enemy positions in real time and sending precise coordinates, to a variety of uses such as suicide attacks that fly toward a target and explode, they are being used for many purposes. In the recent war between the United States and Iran, Iran also deployed a large number of low-cost suicide drones, "Shahed," causing unexpectedly large-scale damage to the United States and Israel, among others. A defense industry official said, "If the top priority until now was possessing expensive weapons, now it has also become important who can operate cheaper and larger numbers of drones more efficiently."
Budget increases are essential to build the military's drone capabilities. The Ministry of National Defense is spending 29.6 billion won on drone purchases this year. As the purchase volume will grow next year, more than 40 billion won in budget will be needed. While buying lower-cost drones, including Chinese-made products, could reduce the per-unit price compared with now, the ministry believes that, for the time being, domestic drones should be used even if they are more expensive. That is because the military can secure a stable supply chain only if the domestic drone ecosystem is revitalized.
Domestic drones are also needed to prepare for various security risks such as hacking. In the case of Chinese-made products, there are concerns about backdoors. A backdoor is a hidden passage that allows outsiders to secretly infiltrate a system. A defense industry official said, "In the United States, they never use weapons from potentially hostile countries," adding, "If we rely solely on imports and the supply line is cut off, a fatal power gap will occur."
In addition, the Ministry of National Defense is seeking ways to support service members in obtaining national drone pilot licenses. It is consulting with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT), which oversees the relevant licenses, on ways to simplify testing procedures for service members who have completed drone training. A Ministry of National Defense official said, "Even if (the licensing procedures are not simplified), it will still be possible to encourage them by giving time in the military to prepare for the license," adding, "For this, a large number of drones must be supplied as soon as possible."