The Republic of Korea’s (ROK) Ministry of Defence has launched a new drone and counter-drone unit.
The news comes days after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for his country to step up offensive drone activities and achieve “absolute superiority” in uncrewed technologies. North Korea has also recently simulated a drone swarm attack.
The ROK’s new agency -The National Defence Drone Headquarters – replaces its Drone Operations Command which has been primarily focused on executing drone operations, and is in line with the Ministry of Defence’s new uncrewed systems development policy. One of the agency’s goals is to speed up the acquisition of systems, in part by deploying a fast-track certification system.
Service branches will each be responsible for their drone and counter-drone roles with the Joint Chiefs of Staff coordinating operations.
For more information
Ministry of Defence – Republic of Korea
Image: ROK Defence Minister Kang Shin-chul (Ministry of Defence – Republic of Korea)
The Fall issue of the 2026 Unmanned Airspace Global Counter-UAS Systems Directory is now available. The guide is the world’s only comprehensive, continually updated directory of global C-UAS companies and systems. It itemises over 1,000 C-UAS products and services with performance details, company sales and partnerships arrangements. It is updated every month and broken down into niche sub-sectors (net-capture, missiles, intercept drones, detectors etc) to give C-UAS procurement and industry personnel a unique perspective of global C-UAS technical capabilities and market positions. It is available in word, PDF and excel formats and Unmanned Airspace readers are eligible for a range of discounts. For more information about the Directory please contact the editor Philip Butterworth-Hayes at philip@unmannedairspace.info.