Joint future combat drills involving drones, an unmanned vehicle, and wearable laser sensors were conducted by South Korean and U.S. troops this week to enhance their military capabilities, according to Seoul’s army on Saturday.
The training took place alongside South Korea’s ongoing Hoguk autumn exercises, which aim to improve responses to North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats.
Over 120 soldiers from both countries collaborated in a simulated town resembling Pyongyang, the capital city of North Korea, constructed at the Korea Combat Training Centre in Inje, a mountainous city in the east.
The drills showcased advanced weapons systems and equipment, such as the multiple integrated laser engagement systems (MILES) worn by troops, which use lasers to simulate real battle scenarios.
Drones were deployed for reconnaissance purposes, some even armed with assault rifles, while South Korea employed a versatile unmanned vehicle to transport injured personnel.
Captain Choi Jeong-Il, from the South Korean army’s 25th Infantry Division (known as the TIGER brigade), stated that the unmanned assets and MILES gear helped identify enemies and assess casualties among allied troops.
He commented, “We were able to confirm the enemy’s movements using the drones, and hit them with the cutting-edge strike equipment, which allowed us to maximize the results of the operation while minimizing damage to our forces.”
First Lieutenant Derek Chen, part of the U.S. 4th Infantry Division’s 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, expressed that the drills provided an “eye-opening experience” and highlighted the usefulness of the assets in future combat operations.
The South Korean army launched the TIGER brigade last year as a pilot unit for employing artificial intelligence-powered drones and highly mobile fighting vehicles in future warfare. It plans to replicate this model across all combat units by 2040.
In addition, the army organized its inaugural international future warfare competition, spanning five days and involving approximately 300 troops from five countries including Britain, Uzbekistan, and Cambodia.
(Reporting by Hyonhee Shin and Daewoung Kim; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)
