S. Korea to field 20,000 drones, train 500,000 'drone warriors' in military overhaul

South Korea's Ministry of National Defense has launched a sweeping shift to unmanned combat systems, centered on acquiring large numbers of expendable drones, fielding a homegrown long-range loitering munition and restructuring how the entire military operates drones. The plan calls for procuring more than 20,000 low-cost drones, deploying the K-LUCAS loitering munition, training 500,000 "drone warriors" and reorganizing the Drone Operations Command.

The Defense Ministry unveiled the "Defense Drone and Counter-Drone Development Policy" on Friday, announcing it would transform drones from a niche capability into a universal combat tool across all branches of the armed forces. The move is a direct response to the low-cost, high-volume drone warfare seen in the war in Ukraine and conflicts in the Middle East.

Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-baek said at a press briefing at the ministry in Yongsan that the policy was designed to spread drone capabilities throughout the entire military and embed them more deeply in operational settings. "Drone operations will no longer be the exclusive domain of specific units — they will become standard practice across all units," Ahn said. "Every service member will be equipped with the ability to operate a drone as if it were a secondary personal weapon."

The core of the buildup is speed and volume. The military plans to rapidly procure more than 20,000 low-cost, expendable drones — including short-range reconnaissance drones and small loitering munitions — while also fielding K-LUCAS, a Korean-developed long-range loitering munition designed for strategic strikes and the suppression of enemy air defenses. AI-based swarm drones and other next-generation systems will be acquired in parallel to prepare for future battlefields. Kim Hong-cheol, director of the defense policy bureau, said the ministry would "rapidly secure more than 20,000 expendable, low-cost drones, including short-range reconnaissance and small loitering munitions, and push forward with the fielding of K-LUCAS."

Counter-drone capabilities will be built up in phases. In the short term, counter-drone systems and small unmanned aerial vehicle response systems will be deployed to front-line contact zones, with commercially proven equipment entering field service starting next year. Over the medium to long term, the ministry plans to field directed-energy weapons — including lasers and high-power microwave systems — while also securing a range of other countermeasures such as low-cost interceptor drones.

Personnel structures will also undergo a major overhaul. Through the "500,000 drone warriors" initiative, the ministry aims to ensure every service member can use drones as a basic combat tool. To that end, roughly 60,000 domestically produced training drones will be introduced and the entire education system will be restructured.

Developing the industrial ecosystem will proceed alongside the military buildup. The Defense Ministry plans to work with government agencies and industry to strengthen the drone sector's foundation and boost export competitiveness. Working with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and other related ministries, the ministry will pursue standardization of key components such as batteries. It also plans to develop and standardize drone-specific munitions under Defense Ministry leadership — removing one of the main barriers to entry for drone manufacturers — to strengthen industrial competitiveness.

The ministry also plans to support the domestic drone industry and expand its export base by opening military training grounds to civilian use, broadening military demonstration programs, hosting a national drone competition and cooperating with allied nations on supply chains.

An organizational restructuring will accompany the policy shift. The current system, centered on the Drone Operations Command, will be decentralized across the individual service branches so that the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps can each conduct integrated surveillance, reconnaissance and strike operations. The Drone Operations Command headquarters will be reorganized into a "Defense Drone Headquarters" dedicated to combat development, acquisition support and civil-military cooperation. Kim said the ministry would "develop the subordinate units of the Drone Operations Command into operational units under each service branch, so that each branch can conduct surveillance, reconnaissance and strike operations in an integrated manner."

The policy goes beyond a simple buildup, aiming to simultaneously overhaul the acquisition system and the industrial ecosystem. The plan calls for rapidly adopting civilian technologies after military validation and establishing a Korean-style military certification system for commercial drones to accelerate their conversion to military use.

"The Defense Ministry will actively pursue the transformation into a strong military built on unmanned combat systems," Ahn said, "achieving the triple effect of rapidly securing drone and counter-drone capabilities, strengthening drone operational skills, and advancing the domestic drone industry."