South Korea plans to train entire military as "drone warriors"

South Korea announced on June 26 that it plans to train its entire military of nearly 500,000 personnel to operate drones, aiming to integrate them as a standard combat tool. Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back stated that troops will be trained to use drones as a "second personal weapon," akin to firearms, to maintain a technological advantage against North Korea. This initiative is partly inspired by the extensive use of drones observed in the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East. The military also intends to equip individual units with more affordable and expendable drones for surveillance and strike operations, alongside deploying advanced counter-drone technologies such as lasers and microwave weapons. Concurrently, South Korea's former drone operations command headquarters will be restructured to foster collaboration with domestic industries for the development and procurement of commercial drone technology, as reported by The Korea Times.