South Korea Will Train 500,000 Troops as Drone Operators

South Korea plans to train every single one of its nearly 500,000 troops to operate drones as a "second personal weapon," on par with a rifle. That directive from Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back, delivered in a June 26 briefing, signals a sweeping shift in how the country fights its 70-year border standoff with North Korea.

Drones as universal combat tools

Minister Ahn explicitly called drones a "universal combat tool" and wants them integrated into every soldier's basic skillset. The goal mirrors the real-world lessons from Ukraine and the Middle East, where cheap consumer quadcopters have turned into precision strike platforms and surveillance assets faster than any procurement program could deliver.

Individual units will get more cheap, expendable drones for both surveillance and strike missions. That means a squad leader will be expected to launch a reconnaissance drone just as naturally as they'd call in artillery. The military is also investing in counter-drone lasers and microwave weapons to defend against the same threat.

Reorganizing command for commercial tech

South Korea's former drone operations command, which used to directly control combat drone units, is being restructured. Its new mission: collaborate with South Korean industry to develop and procure commercial drone technology. That moves the focus from top-down military spec to bottom-up commercial innovation, where companies like Korean Aerospace Industries and startups can iterate faster.

I'd bet this reorganization is the smarter half of the plan. Trying to train half a million soldiers to fly drones is ambitious, but building the acquisition pipeline to actually field those drones at scale is where most militaries stumble. South Korea is betting that a civilian supply chain can outrun North Korean jammers and artillery.

When a 500,000-strong force treats drones as universally as rifles, the tactical calculus of the Korean Peninsula changes. The question is whether the procurement cycle can keep pace with the training mandate.

Source: South Korea plans to train entire military as "drone warriors"
Domain: arstechnica.com