Korean army introduces training program aimed at expanding military drones

A couple of years ago, the South Korean military set up a unit to train with drones... researching a wide variety of uses for the machines, going beyond surveillance.
The drone unit recently held a demonstration.
Our Kim Ji-yeon was there and filed this report.
If an enemy approaches... troops can dispatch drones like this to identify targets and even drops bombs to disable them.
Until now, drones in the military were limited to surveillance and reconnaissance operations,... but now the hope is to use them in a greater variety of ways... through the drone training program at South Korea's army intelligence school in Icheon, Gyeonggi-do Province.


"We test out various commerical drones for military use. For military purposes, drones need to have a low level of noise and a high operation speed."

The demonstration showed that drones can carry up to 10 kilograms each. With five more of these... they could bring supplies to an entire squadron.
Compared to conventional methods, with vehicles, the time it takes to disable chemical, biological and radiological agents could be lessened by six minutes, and they could cover an area around 140 square meters wider.
Also, using a 3D modeling program, photos from the drones can be used to make 3D topographical maps... to help with collecting info on potential operation sites.


"The unit offers courses to train soldiers how to use drone technology for intelligence gathering, targeting and reconnaissance operations."

The unit has trained 150 multicopter and drone pilots a year since 2017.
They're hoping to have the Drone Tigers demonstration team... fly large numbers of drones in formation... by the time the country celebrates Armed Forces Day on October 1st... when the unit says it's preparing a celebratory performance.
Kim Ji-yeon, Arirang News, Icheon.