Military Establishes Joint Drone Command... "Stealth Unmanned Aerial Vehicles to Be Produced Within the Year"

"Establishing Surveillance and Identification System to Counter Unmanned Aerial Vehicles"

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Hee-jun] The military authorities are establishing a 'Joint Drone Command' as a follow-up measure against the airspace intrusion by North Korean unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). They plan to build an unmanned aerial vehicle air defense network and produce 'stealth UAVs' that are difficult for North Korea to detect as early as this year. Following President Yoon Seok-yeol's indication of suspending the effectiveness of the 'September 19 Inter-Korean Military Agreement' in response to North Korea's successive provocations and raising the level of response, the military is also rolling out aggressive countermeasures.

According to the Ministry of National Defense on the 4th, the military plans to establish the Joint Drone Command early, which can perform multipurpose missions such as surveillance, reconnaissance, and electronic warfare. This drone unit, previously ordered by President Yoon, will be organized in the form of a command, and the military reported this plan, titled 'Response Direction Regarding North Korean Small UAV Provocations,' to President Yoon on the same day.

President Yoon Suk-yeol visited the Agency for Defense Development in Yuseong-gu, Daejeon on the 29th to review the overall status of unmanned aerial vehicle development.
[Photo by the Office of the President]

A military official explained, "We plan to comprehensively review and promote the operational concept, command structure, organization, and capabilities of the Drone Command," adding, "Although many review processes are necessary, we will establish it as soon as possible." He further stated, "We will also secure early command and control capabilities for detecting and striking North Korean UAVs."

The military authorities will first build a 'wide-area surveillance and identification system' equipped with functions such as detecting unidentified flight paths in the forward area while simultaneously identifying whether they are North Korean UAVs, tracking multiple flight paths simultaneously, and detecting low-altitude small UAVs.

Additionally, regarding President Yoon's statement on the same day about establishing a system capable of mass-producing small drones and developing stealth UAVs by 'within this year,' the Agency for Defense Development (ADD) expressed confidence that production is feasible within this year by utilizing existing technologies.

A Ministry of National Defense official said, "Before system development, ADD develops various technologies," explaining, "They have been independently developing stealth UAV technology for some time." He added, "We judged that if we focus as much as possible during the remaining time this year, we can achieve it."

Moreover, the military plans to rapidly develop 'drone killer' drones that intercept other drones. Drone killer drones refer to drone systems that shoot down or disable enemy drones using methods such as laser beams, firearm fire, or net deployment. Until now, the military has focused on developing medium to large UAVs, including corps-level UAVs, but they explained that by leveraging already secured related technologies and making them smaller, development can be completed soon.

JCS Conducts Joint Air Defense Exercise Targeting Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
Photo by Joint Chiefs of Staff

Meanwhile, the military authorities identified problems in the current operational system through a diagnosis of the Joint Chiefs of Staff's wartime readiness inspection and the overall UAV response operational system at the Joint Chiefs and Operations Command level, triggered by North Korea's recent UAV provocations.

Accordingly, the Joint Chiefs adjusted the deployment and operation of currently available detection, identification, tracking, and strike assets to utilize them most effectively. They also established an improved operational execution concept by utilizing weapon systems and operational units and are verifying it through training led by the Joint Chiefs and Operations Command.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.