South Korea’s Army has launched a new drone unit, marking the first newly established drone-related unit across the armed forces since a Defense Ministry advisory panel proposed dismantling the Drone Operations Command, a joint body integrating the Army, Navy and Air Force.
According to the military on Friday, the Army held a launch ceremony Wednesday for the so-called drone unit under the 11th Infantry Division. The unit, at the company level, is described by the Army as an experimental formation aimed at “adapting combat methods to future battlefield conditions” and “testing institutional reforms.”
The unit is equipped with short-range reconnaissance drones, rifle-aiming drones and small loitering munitions for experimentation, pilot programs and training. The Army said it plans to expand the unit depending on the results of the trials.
The launch follows a proposal earlier this month by a Defense Ministry advisory committee to dismantle the Drone Operations Command, citing inefficiencies caused by overlapping functions with existing services.
The committee — composed of military, government and civilian experts — was formed in September to review units linked to the Dec. 3, 2024, martial law declaration and propose institutional reforms to prevent a recurrence.
The Drone Operations Command was reportedly involved in flying uncrewed aerial vehicles over North Korea under the former Yoon Suk Yeol administration — an action that prosecutors and investigators probing Yoon on insurrection charges believe was intended to provoke Pyongyang and create justification for declaring martial law.
While the advisory panel did not explicitly state that the command was to be dismantled due to its role in the martial law episode, it cited “inefficiencies caused by overlapping roles” as the primary rationale.
The Drone Operations Command was created in September 2023 as a centralized body responsible for managing drone assets and operational planning across the services. Since its launch, the command has faced criticism over airspace control and overlapping roles with frontline units.
In the proposal, the advisory panel also recommended pursuing an integrated approach to drone combat development after dismantling the joint command.
However, the establishment of the Army’s new drone unit has drawn similar criticism over whether it represents another case of redundant force structuring.
A separate military official said there are concerns that the military may be under pressure to produce visible outcomes, noting that Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back last year called for training “500,000 drone warriors.”
“There has been little substantive change in the drones fielded by the new unit compared with those the military has been using,” the official said on condition of anonymity. “With uncrewed and crewed-uncrewed drone acquisition programs effectively stalled (following the advisory panel’s recommendation to dismantle the Drone Operations Command), it is unclear what such experimental units actually accomplish.”
The Army already operates the Dronebot Combat Group, which was established under the Ground Operations Command in 2018. In addition, the Army’s 36th Infantry Division was designated in September as the first dedicated test unit for small-drone and counter-drone capabilities.
Asked whether the new unit overlaps with existing drone-related units, the Army said the new drone unit is distinct, describing it as a “formation integrating advanced technologies” such as artificial intelligence-based networks, robotics and cyber-electromagnetic capabilities.
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