South Korea will push to field long-range suicide drones called K-Lucas to strengthen its unmanned weapons systems, Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back said on Friday.
Ahn made the remarks during a press briefing in Seoul. He noted that low-cost drones are changing warfare and that North Korea is advancing its unmanned aerial capabilities.
The K-Lucas system is a long-range loitering munition reverse-engineered from Iranian Shahed-136 drones. It is designed to hover over targets before striking them.
The military plans to acquire more than 20,000 low-cost drones before 2030 and to develop AI-powered drone swarms. The Drone Operations Command will be reorganized into the National Defense Drone Headquarters.
Ahn also reaffirmed plans to train 500,000 drone warriors so that all service members can operate drones.
