SEOUL- South Korea will push to bring in a long-range suicide drone system for combat use to bolster its unmanned weapons systems amid a changing warfare environment, Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back said Friday.
The plan calls for accelerating efforts to field long-range self-destructive loitering munitions as part of the country's broader drone and counter-drone policy to adapt to changes on the battlefield where the use of drones is increasingly becoming a game changer.
The suicide drones will be the Korean version of the U.S. Lucas, or low-cost uncrewed combat attack system, the defense ministry said.
The Lucas system is known to be reverse-engineered from Iranian Shahed-136 drones, a key weapon used in the recent Middle East conflict.
This file photo shows a military surveillance drone operating during a drill in Pocheon, north of Seoul, on May 28, 2026. (Yonhap)
