No Drones to Monitor North Korea During Chuseok Holiday [Yang Nakkyu's Defence Club]

Aging of Songgolmae Corps-Level UAVs, Heron Crash
Urgent Need to Procure Next-Generation Corps-Level UAVs

Israel Drone Heron 1

There is growing urgency regarding the procurement of corps-level unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for the frontline. This is because the RQ-101 Songgolmae, the first domestically developed corps-level UAV, has become obsolete, and only one Heron drone purchased from overseas remains after a series of accidents.

As of 2023, the South Korean Army operates approximately 440 UAVs at the battalion level, about 50 at the division level, around 20 at the corps level, and 3 at the Ground Operations Command, totaling 510 UAVs in operation. UAVs by branch and unit are controlled and managed by the operational command of each military service (Army, Navy, Air Force), while the Defense Drone Headquarters separately commands and controls UAVs dedicated to reconnaissance, suicide, and stealth missions.

The representative corps-level UAVs are the Songgolmae and the Heron. Although around 30 Songgolmae UAVs were initially deployed, only about 20 remain due to aging and obsolescence. Furthermore, due to excessive noise, these remaining units are reportedly rarely operated.

The Heron, which conducts mid-to-high-altitude flights at 9 to 10 kilometers, was purchased from Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) in 2016, with three units introduced for the surveillance of North Korea’s coastal artillery in Hwanghaedo north of the West Sea's Five Islands and long-range North Korean artillery north of Gyeonggi Province. The Heron has an operational range of 350 kilometers, can be equipped with up to 250 kilograms of detection equipment, and is capable of staying airborne for over 40 hours. Its operational radius is up to 240 kilometers. The price per Heron unit is only about 3 billion won, but with ground control systems and associated infrastructure included, the total project cost reportedly reaches 40 billion won.

Of the three imported Heron UAVs, one crashed in November 2024 due to jamming of its GPS navigation system by North Korea. In March of the previous year, another military Heron UAV attempting to land at an Army aviation battalion base in Gwangjeok-myeon, Yangju City, Gyeonggi Province, collided with a Surion helicopter on the ground, resulting in both the drone and helicopter being completely destroyed by fire.

This gap in UAV operations has made disruptions in North Korea surveillance inevitable. The main mission of these UAVs is surveillance and reconnaissance of North Korea to defend the northwestern islands. They are tasked with monitoring areas such as Baengnyeong Island, Yeonpyeong Island, and the vicinity of the Northern Limit Line (NLL) in the West Sea. Experts have pointed out, "It will be impossible to avoid a significant blow to the surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities against North Korea near the Northern Limit Line."

In response, the military claims it possesses higher-altitude surveillance assets, such as the 'Global Hawk' high-altitude reconnaissance UAV, as well as crewed reconnaissance aircraft like Saemae (RF-16) and Geumgang·Baekdu (RC-800). Additionally, the military noted that it can receive surveillance information from the US military through ROK–US cooperation.

There are rising calls within the military to expedite the next-generation corps-level UAV procurement project. The Army submitted an urgent request to the Joint Chiefs of Staff in April of last year, but it did not proceed. If a new UAV is to be introduced, testing and evaluation would need to start from scratch, inevitably delaying the timeline for deployment. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration is currently considering ways to import UAVs without undergoing separate testing and evaluation.

General Atomics' unmanned aerial vehicle Gray Eagle

Drones currently under consideration for introduction include not only the Heron but also the Grey Eagle (MQ-1C) attack UAV. Since 2022, the United States Forces Korea has deployed 12 improved Grey Eagle-ER (Extended Range) units to the 2nd Combat Aviation Brigade under the 2nd Infantry Division (ROK–US Combined Division). The Grey Eagle-ERs are being utilized with the latest AH-64E Guardian Apache attack helicopters for ‘Manned-Unmanned Teaming Operations (MUM-T).’

The Grey Eagle, manufactured by General Atomics in the US, is an upgraded version of the Predator (MQ-1), the first attack drone to strike ground targets with Hellfire missiles. The Grey Eagle-ER is a mid-to-low-altitude drone with a length of 8 meters and a wingspan of 17 meters, capable of flying for up to 42 hours at a maximum speed of 280 km/h. It is equipped with four Hellfire anti-tank missiles, each capable of striking tanks at distances of approximately 8 km, and four Viper Strike (GBU-44/B) precision-guided bombs.

The Bayraktar TB2, produced in Türkiye, is another candidate. The TB2 is a Turkish medium-altitude unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) that has proven its capabilities in continuous operations since 2019 in the Syrian and Libyan civil wars as well as the 2020 civil war in Ethiopia and the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict. The TB2 is outfitted with a high-resolution camera, a thermal imaging sensor, and laser-guided bombs, enabling it to conduct surveillance and reconnaissance, as well as carry out precision strikes on enemy targets. According to Baykar, the TB2 has so far been exported to 30 countries.

An official from the military said, "Since the Heron has been discontinued, the Army should have submitted its request as a new project, not just as an expansion of existing equipment," adding, "Although the project has been delayed, the Army plans to review and push forward the corps-level UAV procurement project as soon as possible."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.