Recon, suicide drones spot targets, strike in Army's future warfare drill

YANGPYEONG, Gyeonggi Province — Reconnaissance drones swept across the sky, searching for enemy positions. Their live footage reached a command post, where an artificial intelligence (AI)-based decision-support system recommended weapons for an attack.

Once a battalion commander gave the order, a 120-millimeter self-propelled mortar fired, followed by explosive-laden drones diving toward their targets.

The sequence was part of the Army’s Army TIGER+ integrated combat exercise at the Yangpyeong General Training Ground, Wednesday, offering a close-up look at how Korea plans to fight with soldiers, drones and robots working together.

The demonstration covered reconnaissance, strikes, minefield clearance, counter-drone defense, an armored advance and resupply — with unmanned equipment sent into dangerous areas before troops moved in.

The first to appear were short-range reconnaissance drones. Several flew simultaneously, transmitting images to the command post. One drone fitted with a rifle demonstrated how the same aircraft could both locate and attack a target.

They were followed by battalion-level multipurpose reconnaissance drones and a group of drones controlled from a single ground station. Multispectral imaging and radio-frequency detection drones added another layer of surveillance.

“Today, we’re operating 19 reconnaissance drones of nine types,” an Army official said, explaining that live video feeds gave commanders a clearer view of the simulated battlefield.

The information was put to use almost immediately. After a drone identified an enemy position, officers reviewed the firepower recommended by the AI system. The battalion commander made the final decision, and the mortar fired.

Three grenade-carrying suicide drones were then dispatched against a simulated concentration of enemy troops.

Next came the minefield. Rather than sending soldiers straight into the hazardous area, the Army deployed unmanned reconnaissance vehicles, drones and engineering equipment to check the ground and locate enemy positions.

Attack drones struck simulated trenches as smoke screened the advance. While unmanned systems checked the minefield and enemy defenses, mixed teams of soldiers and machines moved to secure key ground on either side of the route.

A K21 armored vehicle carrying a manned-unmanned combat squad then entered the area, firing on the move and hitting its target. From a drone station mounted on the vehicle, a first-person-view drone took off to attack another position.

The Army also demonstrated how it would defend against hostile drones. After a drone command post separated friendly aircraft from incoming threats, a vehicle-mounted anti-drone defense system used a smart jammer.

A K21 armored vehicle then fired multipurpose rounds at the incoming drones. Then the Cheongwang laser air defense weapon fired at a drone overhead. It caught fire and fell from the sky.

With the route secured, combat engineers cleared a passage through the minefield while attack drones provided cover. An unmanned lead team moved through first, followed by K2 tanks and K21 armored vehicles pushing into simulated enemy defenses.

Soldiers dismounted to fight through the final position and secure the objective, relying on information gathered by drones overhead and unmanned vehicles on the ground.

The exercise ended with a less dramatic but equally practical demonstration of unmanned resupply operations. Transport drones carried ammunition and first-aid kits to troops at the captured position, while unmanned ground vehicles brought additional supplies.

An Army official said such systems could reduce the number of personnel needed for resupply and reach areas exposed to shellfire or chemical contamination.

At a policy briefing before the exercise, Maj. Gen. Lee Kyung-jin, the Army’s policy chief, said the goal was to reverse the current relationship between troops and unmanned equipment.

“Right now, unmanned systems support soldiers,” Lee said. “We want to move toward a system centered on unmanned equipment, with people providing command and control.”

But the equipment on display also highlighted a manpower problem. For now, each drone or robot generally needs its own operator.

“If you want to operate 10 drones, you need 10 people,” Lee said. “Our goal is a one-to-many system,” allowing one person to operate several machines.

Army Chief of Staff Gen. Kim Kyu-ha said that would require more than buying additional drones.

“We need an integrated, multilayered network,” Kim said. “A digital backbone is essential to move from one-to-one control to one-to-many supervision.”

Brig. Gen. Nam Seung-hyun, the Army’s deputy chief for military innovation, identified integration as a major hurdle.

“We already have many of the individual technologies in Korea,” Nam said. “The challenge is how to bring them together and operate them as one system.”

The Army began testing a manned-unmanned combat squad in July and plans to expand the trials to a company-sized unit in 2027 and a battalion-sized unit in 2028. The results will help determine how such units are organized and operated.