The Defense Ministry has blocked the Drone Operations Command's plan to acquire additional small reconnaissance drones—the same model that infiltrated Pyongyang, North Korea.
The unmanned aerial vehicle in question was deployed to Pyongyang in October 2024. Critics have pointed out its poor performance, citing excessive noise and the inability to track its location.
According to documents the Drone Operations Command submitted to the office of Rep. Boo Seung-chan of the Democratic Party of Korea, a member of the National Assembly's National Defense Committee, the command allocated 1.304 billion won to procure 24 "Small Reconnaissance Drone Type 1" units this year.
The Small Reconnaissance Drone Type 1 is a model the Defense Ministry secured in 2023 through an in-house research and development program at the Agency for Defense Development (ADD). ADD produced 100 units in six months at a cost of 30 million won per unit.
However, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration noted in an internal report following test flights that the drone's large radar cross-section makes it highly likely to be detected by enemy radar systems. The report also raised concerns about excessive flight noise.
"The plan to acquire additional small reconnaissance drones that have no value as reconnaissance assets must be halted entirely," Rep. Boo said. "A comprehensive review is needed of the drone assets that the Yoon Suk-yeol administration hastily introduced without proper evaluation."
In response to the reports, the Defense Ministry announced it would temporarily suspend execution of the related budget this year.
Defense Ministry spokesperson Jeong Bit-na said at a regular briefing, "Once adjustments to the Drone Operations Command's missions and functions are completed, we will review the necessity of the program. The allocated budget will then be reassigned to units that actually perform the missions and executed in accordance with required equipment."