“Units equipped with advanced manned-unmanned hybrid weapon systems such as AI (artificial intelligence), combat robots, autonomous drones, and ultra-precise high-performance missiles are the solution.”

President Lee Jae-myung stated this in his first Armed Forces Day commemorative speech since taking office on the 1st of last month. In future warfare, predicted to become a "manless battlefield," it is difficult to gain an advantage with a human wave tactic army, making AI and unmanned systems the solution. However, the government believes that moving towards a manned-unmanned hybrid system before complete AI unmanned systems will be the key to self-reliant defense.

The AI-based manned-unmanned hybrid system integrates unmanned systems into existing manned forces such as submarines and fighter jets. This is gaining attention as the most realistic solution to restructure our military into a manpower-saving model amid a crisis in securing troops due to population decline. The standing force of our military is projected to plummet from 650,000 in 2010 to 350,000 by 2040. Kim Yoon-tae, former director of the Korea Defense Research Institute (Visiting Professor at Korea University’s Big Data Science Department), emphasized, “We need to establish and promote the concept of manned-unmanned hybrid units by echelon on land, sea, and air, and also formulate a comprehensive combat experiment plan for unit restructuring alternatives.”

The Ministry of National Defense is also moving to secure manned-unmanned hybrid systems. In the defense budget proposal submitted to the National Assembly in September, the Ministry allocated KRW 340.2 billion to 17 projects related to strengthening manned-unmanned hybrid combat systems. This represents a 77.6% increase compared to this year's main budget, marking the largest increase among the defense improvement expenditure items. The 17 projects include mass production of explosive detection and disposal robots, development of unmanned reconnaissance vehicles, and development of unmanned reconnaissance surface vessels. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration plans to accelerate the development of manned-unmanned hybrid systems by establishing autonomous driving test facilities for ground robots by 2028.

Park Jong-seung, former director of the Agency for Defense Development (Visiting Professor at KAIST Institute for Security Convergence), stated, “The era of direct combat using patrol ships in the northwestern islands such as Baengnyeongdo is over,” and added, “We need to completely change the operational concept by forming swarms with small unmanned surface vessels to infiltrate, thereby simultaneously addressing the issues of troop shortages and troop losses.”

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