Welcome the launch of the drone headquarters

The Ministry of National Defense has enacted and promulgated a decree on establishing drone operation headquarters in September. The move is aimed at maximizing the capabilities of drones being operated by each unit separately and let them carry out missions such as countering drone attacks by the enemy, monitoring and spying on the enemy, and striking targets in North Korea, not to mention conducting psychological warfare. The defense ministry made the decision to reflect the need for systematic and efficient military operations through drones.

Last December, our military failed to intercept North Korean drones flying over Seoul and Ganghwa Island. Earlier, even a hiker discovered a North Korean drone and reported it to military authorities. And yet, our military’s lethargic response to drones from North Korea continued. A fighter jet took off to shoot down a small drone flying at the speed of 100 kilometers (62 miles) per hour, but crashed. Later, an attack helicopter fired multiple rounds at the drone, but couldn’t destroy it. Such episodes are a typical case of high-cost, low-efficiency operations.

But if the drone headquarters is launched, our military can attack North Korean drones with nets or even laser equipped on our drones. That will certainly help our armed forces transform into the cutting-edge military. As seen in the Ukraine war, drones play a pivotal role — for instance, capturing the movements of enemy tanks even without using satellites or expensive spying aircraft.

The U.S. military successfully accomplished the mission of killing Al Qaeda leader Abdul Hamid al-Matar in northern Syria in October 2021 by using a drone. In the past, it may have cost the lives of special force troops. But not anymore, thanks to the availability of jog shuttle controllers to hit targets thousands of kilometers away. Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet service has also emerged as the game changer in future wars.

Not only drones but also unmanned combat vehicles and submersibles are being developed for real battles. We welcome the defense ministry’s decision to establish the drone headquarters. For Korea whose soldiers are expected to be halved by 2040 due to the pathetically low birthrate, we have no other choice but to combine the manned and unmanned systems based on scientific advancement.

The efficiency of the unmanned combat system has already been confirmed on many battlefields. Thanks to its advanced IT technology, Korea can apply it to military fields to save time and money. We hope the defense ministry takes this as an opportunity to extend the drone and artificial intelligence technology to other fields of the military before it is too late.