South Korea launches Defense Drone Command with half its staff at field-grade officer rank

South Korea has launched a new Defense Drone Command in which field-grade officers account for half of all working-level staff. South Korea's Ministry of National Defense reorganized the existing Drone Operations Command into the new body as a follow-up to its "Defense Drone and Counter-Drone Development Policy" announced earlier this year, giving it authority over drone requirements review, acquisition support and certification across all service branches.

The Defense Ministry held an inauguration ceremony Monday at the Defense Drone Command in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, with Deputy Defense Minister Lee Du-hee in attendance.

The ministry said countries such as Ukraine and the United States have established systems and organizations to rapidly introduce civilian capabilities into their militaries — through limited modification, development or demonstration — because civilian technology is advancing quickly and the scope of dual-use applications is broad. "The Defense Drone Command will focus on concept development, demonstration, requirements generation and civil-military cooperation to strengthen the military's drone and counter-drone capabilities," the ministry said.

The commander of the Defense Drone Command will hold the same major general rank as the former Drone Operations Command chief. Kim Deuk-bong, the current Drone Operations Command chief, will serve as the inaugural commander.

The total authorized strength was reduced to about 100 personnel following a scaling back of the former command's operations, logistics and combat support functions. However, the share of field-grade officers among working-level staff was sharply expanded to 50 percent. Under the previous Drone Operations Command, field-grade officers made up only 17 percent of a total force of about 280.

The ministry is also pursuing a Korean version of the US "Blue UAS" framework — a fast-track acquisition system under which domestically produced civilian drone products verified for localization rate, security and performance are pre-registered on a military-exclusive marketplace, allowing military units to purchase and deploy them in the field immediately without separate procurement procedures.

Strike and other operational functions previously handled by the Drone Operations Command have been transferred to operational units under the Army, Air Force and Marine Corps. The Joint Chiefs of Staff will exercise integrated command and control over drone operations distributed across the services.

Meanwhile, concerns have been raised that the Defense Drone Command could become a redundant layer of bureaucracy overlapping with the Defense Acquisition Program Administration and the Agency for Defense Development. The Defense Ministry said the new command "will serve as a specialized organization that promotes concept development, coordination and integration of service requirements, and the military application of superior civilian technologies — functions that are difficult to carry out within the existing acquisition system," adding that its work "will not overlap with the Defense Acquisition Program Administration's existing responsibilities for weapons system acquisition, project management and contracting."