"In order to prepare against various North Korean unmanned assets and drones, DAPA is enhancing substantive response capabilities... We will make efforts so that the project for the integrated anti-drone system for key areas can be carried out in a timely way," Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) spokesperson Col. Choi Kyung-ho was quoted as saying by the local media.
Namely, a project totaling 48.5 billion won (about $37.2 million) has recently been published on the defense enhancement program procurement website, involving the purchase of an anti-UAV defense system which will be operated by the South Korean armed forces, the news outlet reported.
The report specified that bids for the system will be accepted until August 8 this year and the system is expected to be able to detect small drones and neutralize them by jamming their signals.
This June, media reported, citing a source, that the South Korean military had also adopted an aggressive counter-drone operational principle under which Seoul could send 10 or more of its drones to the North if a North Korean drone entered South Korea.
In December 2022, the South Korean Defense Ministry said that five drones believed to be North Korean had crossed the inter-Korean border. Four small drones flew in the area of Ganghwado Island in South Korea and another flew up to the northern region of the metropolitan area, including Seoul.