S. Korea to acquire suicide UAVs, advanced attack drones for future warfare

SEOUL, Oct. 19 (Yonhap) -- South Korea plans to acquire a dozen types of advanced military hardware, such as suicide unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and gun-shooting drones, by next year to better brace for evolving future battle environments, the arms procurement agency said Monday.

Under the second round of the "rapid acquisition" project worth 26 billion won (US$22.75 million), the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) decided to buy 12 military items that employ state-of-the-art technologies, such as remote control and autonomous driving.

They include light-weight suicide UAVs, drones that fire guns at ground targets, advanced surveillance plus attack drones, multipurpose unmanned vehicles, intelligent anti-jamming censors and a smartphone-based combat command system, according to DAPA.

The agency issued a tender notice Monday and will choose companies within this year to deliver those items to the military in the first half of next year, officials said.

The agency launched the rapid acquisition project in May this year to bring competitive items to the military in a swift manner to capitalize on innovative technologies for military purposes and better respond to changing security circumstances.

In the first round of the project, the agency bought four kinds of advanced military hardware -- two types of surveillance drones, small unmanned aircraft and portable anti-drone guns.

"We will continue to improve arms procurement procedures to cut red tape and boost efficiency," DAPA chief Wang Jung-hong said.

graceoh@yna.co.kr
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