[Anchor]

Yesterday (September 16), the Ministry of National Defense held an event in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, showcasing various cutting-edge drone technologies. However, military authorities have launched an investigation after drones developed by domestic defense contractors crashed one after another.

Defense correspondent Kim Tae-hoon reports.

[Reporter]

The Defense Drone Technology Exhibition took place yesterday at the Seungjin Training Area in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province.

Domestically developed advanced drones, including high-speed jet drones, suicide drones, and reconnaissance drones, gathered in one place to demonstrate their flight capabilities under simulated combat conditions.

[Won Jong-dae / Assistant Minister of National Defense: "Let us see for ourselves right here the drone offense and defense battles of future battlefields."]

However, an air-to-air interceptor drone designed to pursue and strike other drones spun out of control and crashed as soon as it was ejected from a mother drone.

["It has been launched. (Ahhhhh....)"]

Another interceptor drone that was successfully ejected ultimately failed to hit the target drone and rapidly lost altitude.

The first mid-sized high-speed jet drone crashed immediately after takeoff.

["Unfortunately, Unit 1 crashed immediately just a moment ago...."]

Unit 2 succeeded in taking off, but its signal was lost during flight, and it was reportedly lost.

In addition, air-to-ground guided rocket drones and others suffered accidents, failing during takeoff or crashing mid-flight.

During the rehearsal two days ago (September 15), there were no abnormalities, so the event was held yesterday as scheduled, yet drones developed by defense contractors crashed in succession.

[Yoo Yong-weon / People Power Party Lawmaker (yesterday, confirmation hearing): "Only some succeeded, and a substantial number failed to operate properly. Even drones made by major conglomerates...."]

Last month (August), suicide drones were launched from the Navy's amphibious assault ship ROKS Marado, but both crashed into the sea.

With the importance of drones in warfare growing day by day, the South Korean military still appears to have a long way to go in strengthening its drone capabilities.

(Video by Kim Hyun-sang | Video Editing by Jang Hyun-ki | Photo: Newsis)