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| A soldier controls a reconnaissance drone during joint drills with the U.S. military in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, in this Jan. 13 file photo. South Korea's military plans to launch a comprehensive drone operations unit in July as part of efforts to bolster counter-unmanned aerial vehicle capabilities following North Korea's drone incursions three months ago. Newsis |
Army seeks operational knowhow from Turkey, other partner countries
By Jung Min-ho
South Korea's military plans to launch a comprehensive drone operations unit in July as part of its efforts to bolster its counter-unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) capabilities following North Korea's drone incursions late last year.
According to officials Wednesday, the military is accelerating its efforts to map out its plans, such as the size of the unit, command structure and its location.
This comes as a direct order of President Yoon Suk Yeol, who in January called for a multi-mission unit capable not just of effectively fending off UAV threats from North Korea but also of conducting reconnaissance and psychological warfare roles.
Gen. Lee Bo-hyung of the Army Aviation Command is in charge of the project. How to share roles and interoperate with the Air Force against UAV threats in various forms has emerged as one of the major tasks, as the military plans to continue to strengthen its drone capabilities.
Pocheon, a city in the far northeastern area of Gyeonggi Province, is among the candidates for the unit's location. It is just south of Cheorwon and Hwacheon, two counties bordering North Korea, and has the military facilities once used by the now-disbanded Republic of Korea Army VI Corps. This means that the swift development of a UAV unit is possible, given that most of the facilities including underground bunkers can still be used after some repairs and improvement work.
To maximize the unit's potential, officials said South Korea's military has been learning from its partner countries that operate such units. Some military officers recently visited Turkey's UAV operation unit to receive advice, according to officials.
"We are developing the operational concept and strategies by analyzing operation cases of various countries," the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.
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| A Ukrainian soldier flies a drone during fighting at the frontline near Bakhmut, Ukraine, March 3. AP-Yonhap |
Russia's war in Ukraine has demonstrated how lethal drones can be, with both sides utilizing them early on in the conflict.
The Bayraktar TB2s, Turkey-made armed UAVs, have been among Ukraine's key weapons in its defense against Russian troops. Ukraine has used them for highly risky operations to not only take out Russian tanks and other military equipment but also to check the situation inside Russian territory. Many experts say UAVs have changed the course of the war and the nature of modern warfare, a message President Yoon apparently took seriously.
North Korea's drone infiltrations in December exposed the South Korean military's lack of readiness against such small craft, which could potentially carry lethal weapons. Bruce Bennett, a senior defense analyst at the Rand Corporation, a U.S. policy think tank, told The Korea Times after the provocation that North Korea's drone threats should not be underestimated.
The military has since revealed a series of drone-defense plans, saying it will conduct regular drills, procure drone-jamming guns and build a real-time target intelligence-sharing system.
Yet how to secure the required technology and a sufficient number of UAVs for the new unit remains a challenge for the military as it relies on foreign companies for advanced ones. Its domestically-developed drone model, the RQ-101, has been used since 2002. The country's next-generation UAV is still under development. The president told the military to improve systems for the mass production of small UAVs and develop a new stealth model by the end of this year.
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