US and South Korean military drones conduct unprecedented live-fire exercises

SEOUL, South Korea — Unmanned aerial vehicles from the United States and South Korea recently teamed up to improve their combat effectiveness through a first-of-its-kind live-fire exercise, according to the Ministry of National Defense in Seoul.

The exercise took place Friday, a day after North Korea launched an intercontinental ballistic missile off its east coast, although the timing is not of the essence, according to an email Monday from 7th Air Force spokesman Master Sgt. Rachel Coleman.

A U.S. Air Force MQ-9 Reaper dropped an inert 558-pound GBU-38 Joint Direct Attack Munition, or JDAM, using reconnaissance data from a South Korean Air Force RQ-4B Global Hawk, according to Coleman and a third department press release. days earlier.

The Air Force includes the dropping of inert or simulated bombs in its definition of live fire.

Coleman declined to provide additional information about the flight, citing operational security concerns.

The exercise took place on Jikdo Island in the Yellow Sea, about 30 miles southwest of Seoul, a South Korean air force spokesman said by phone Monday. South Korean officials typically speak to the media on condition of anonymity.

The US and South Korean militaries regularly conduct exercises in Jikdo. In June, special operations forces trained close air support and air interdiction on the island using an Air Force AC-130J Ghostrider gunship.

After North Korea launched a ballistic missile over Japan on October 3, 2022, US F-16 Fighting Falcons and South Korean F-15K Slam Eagles dropped JDAM on a target on the island the next day.

Friday’s live-fire exercise came a day after North Korea launched an intercontinental ballistic missile off its east coast. The intercontinental ballistic missile flew 620 miles at a maximum altitude of 4,776 miles before splashing down in the Sea of ​​Japan or the East Sea, according to North Korea’s state-run Central News Agency.

The US approved the sale of four Global Hawk aircraft to South Korea for $657 million in 2014; the last of the drones was delivered six years later. Drones are primarily used for surveillance and can fly for up to 30 hours at a maximum altitude of 60,000 feet, according to the Air Force website.

In May, the administration of South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol said the military plans to double its drone fleet in the next two years.

South Korea’s defense acquisition program administration, under a $353 million contract awarded in December, has tasked three Seoul defense firms with mass production of medium-altitude UAVs capable of flying at an altitude of about six to seven miles.

In September 2023, the military created a new command tasked with overseeing drone operations in the country. The Drone Operations Command, headquartered in Pocheon, about 15 miles from the heavily guarded demilitarized zone, was created nine months after Pyongyang launched some five drones into the South’s airspace. .

North Korea’s drone incursion into the South, the first of its kind in five years, prompted Seoul to scramble fighter jets and helicopters in an unsuccessful attempt to intercept the plane.

Stars and Stripes reporter Yoo Kyung-chan contributed to this report.