Jung also highlighted the South Korean military’s personnel shortage, especially among non-commissioned officers and officers who are expected to help train new recruits in the use of drones.
Lessons from Ukraine
It’s worth noting that Ukraine, the model for so many countries’ military reform efforts, does not have an all-inclusive military. trained to be a drone pilot—although Ukraine has expanded training to produce tens of thousands of drone operators.
Instead, Ukraine’s effective use of military drones comes from having widely deployed specialized teams of drone operators to support frontline infantry units, defending the Unmanned systems forces branch of the military to develop drone doctrine and coordinate deep strike campaigns, creating a digital battle management system which provides up-to-date information on the battlefield for quick decision making, and develop a local drone industry that can mass produce millions of drones each year while nimbly innovating in response to changing battlefield conditions.
Meanwhile, North Korean soldiers who survived their encounters with Ukrainian drone warfare while fighting on Russia’s side have already been turning back home to train the North Korean army. Although it’s less clear what kind of training lessons they may be imparting to their comrades.
At the same time, South Korean troops are not the only ones facing the North Korean army. There are currently 28,500 US troops stationed in South Korea as a legacy of US military intervention on the side of South Korea during the Korean War, which began with an invasion of North Korea.
Taking a cue from Ukraine’s drone innovations, the US military has also been integrating drone familiarization measures and anti-drone measures into basic training for its own new recruits, while the Pentagon has requested $54 billion for new drone and counter-drone systems in its fiscal year 2027 budget.
