A drone appears with a roaring sound and dives straight into a building without slowing down.
This is the Shahed, an Iranian suicide drone that struck key U.S. military bases during conflicts with the U.S.
The U.S. was left helpless against Iranian drone attacks, losing not only its fleet headquarters but also an airborne early warning and control aircraft.
Iranian media highlighted the cost-effectiveness of the weapon, claiming that a 30 million won Shahed drone destroyed U.S. military surveillance assets worth approximately 450 billion won. Our military has now decided to officially incorporate such suicide drones into its combat capabilities.
Minister of National Defense Ahn Gyu-baek announced today (June 26) at the Ministry of National Defense building in Seoul that the military will rapidly pursue the deployment of the so-called 'K-LUCAS,' a Korean-style long-range suicide drone designed for strategic strikes and neutralizing air defense networks.
The concept appears similar to the LUCAS, a low-cost unmanned combat attack system that the U.S. developed by reverse-engineering Iranian-made Shahed drones and deployed in combat during the war with Iran.
In addition, the Ministry announced plans to rapidly secure over 20,000 low-cost, expendable drones, including short-range reconnaissance drones and small suicide drones. It also plans to simultaneously secure next-generation drone capabilities, such as swarm drones integrated with artificial intelligence (AI) technology, to prepare for future battlefields.
There has been criticism that civilian drone technology must be adopted more quickly to effectively respond to changes in the battlefield. In response, the Ministry of National Defense stated, "We will push for legislation to ensure the flexible and rapid acquisition of advanced military capabilities."
The Drone Operations Command, established in 2023 under the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, is scheduled to be reorganized into the 'Defense Drone Headquarters.'
The Drone Operations Command was previously at the center of controversy following the so-called 'Pyongyang drone incident' that occurred in October 2024.
Currently, the Drone Operations Command headquarters performs tasks similar to the staff departments of general military units, focusing on the establishment and execution of operational plans.
The Ministry of National Defense plans to shift the operational functions of the Drone Command to each military branch, while transforming the Defense Drone Headquarters into a specialized organization dedicated to supporting the acquisition of drone assets in coordination with each branch.
Furthermore, the Ministry reaffirmed its policy to train '500,000 drone warriors' so that all soldiers can utilize drones as if they were their 'second personal firearm.'
Reported by Kim Ji-wook | Video by Kim Na-on | Graphics by Yang Hye-min | Produced by SBS Digital News
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