KOR
▲ The Ministry of National Defense held the 2026 Joint Firepower Strike Exercise at the Seungjin Firepower Training Ground in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province. This exercise, which is the first major joint firepower drill featuring a large scale of South Korea's key military assets since the launch of the sovereign government, served as an occasion to introduce K-defense flagship equipment and new weapon systems.
The Ministry of National Defense announced today (the 31st) that it has signed a contract for the 2026 "Educational Commercial Drone Procurement Project" as part of its "500,000 Drone Warriors" policy initiative.
About 10 domestic companies placed bids for this project, which was announced last April. The selection process proceeded through steps including verification of the localization of core components, proposal evaluation, and security and performance validation.
To vitalize the domestic drone market, a multiple-award system was applied for the first time in a defense project to select three companies. Through these companies, the ministry plans to procure approximately 11,000 educational commercial drones by the end of this year.
Jeon Jun-beom, Director General for Artificial Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense, stated, "The three companies selected this year are outstanding enterprises whose technological levels and production capacities have been verified," adding, "We expect them to collaborate with our military to enhance combat capabilities and contribute to vitalizing the domestic drone industry ecosystem."
The ministry is currently pursuing the "500,000 Drone Warriors Training" policy to create an environment where all soldiers can easily master drone flying skills and acquire necessary licenses after enlistment.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.
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