South Korea’s Defense Ministry announced a broad overhaul of its uncrewed warfare strategy on June 26, with Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back confirming plans to acquire more than 20,000 low-cost drones and accelerate deployment of a domestically developed long-range loitering munition known as K-Lucas.
Speaking at a ministry press briefing, Ahn cited the battlefield lessons of Russia’s war in Ukraine and the recent US-Iran conflict as drivers of the initiative. “The widespread deployment of low-cost drones is fundamentally reshaping modern warfare,” Ahn said. “At the same time, North Korea continues to expand its diverse uncrewed aerial capabilities, posing growing threats to our military as well as critical infrastructure and civilian facilities.”
The K-Lucas — Korea’s version of the Long-range Uncrewed Combat Attack System — is designed as a loitering munition capable of strategic strikes. The ministry said it plans to procure more than 20,000 expendable systems, including short-range reconnaissance drones and small loitering munitions, by 2030, while developing AI-powered drone swarms as a next-generation capability. Deployment of counterdrone systems and small uncrewed aircraft defense systems in front-line areas near the inter-Korean border is planned to begin in 2027. Directed-energy weapons — lasers and high-power microwave systems — along with low-cost interceptor drones are targeted for the mid- to long-term.
The ministry also announced legislation to allow commercially available systems to be tested under military conditions and rapidly fielded through a streamlined certification process. “The pace of technological change in drones and counterdrone systems is so rapid that our procurement system can no longer rely on traditional approaches,” said Kim Hong-cheol, deputy minister for national defense policy.
As part of the reorganization, the Drone Operations Command will be restructured into a National Defense Drone Headquarters focused on policy, capability development, and acquisition — with operational authority transferred to the individual service branches. The command has been under investigation for alleged unauthorized drone incursions into Pyongyang in October 2024. Ahn also reaffirmed the goal of training 500,000 “drone warriors,” framing personal drone operation as a standard military competency across all services.
