South Korea to deploy 'Star Wars' laser weapons targeting North Korean drones

SEOUL - South Korea will deploy laser weapons to shoot down North Korean drones, becoming the world's first country to deploy and operate such weapons in the military, the country's arms procurement agency said on July 11.

South Korea has called its laser programme the "Star Wars project".

The drone-zapping laser weapons the South Korean military has developed with Hanwha Aerospace are effective and cheap at 2,000 won (S$1.96) per shot, but quiet and invisible, South Korea's Defence Acquisition Programme Administration (Dapa) said in a statement.

"Our country is becoming the first country in the world to deploy and operate laser weapons, and our military's response capabilities on North Korea's drone provocation will be further strengthened," Dapa said, calling those weapons a game changer in the future battlefield.

The laser weapons shoot down flying drones by burning down engines or other electric equipment in drones with beams of light for 10 to 20 seconds, a Dapa spokesperson explained at a briefing.

Five North Korean drones crossed into South Korea, which is technically still at war with Pyongyang, in December, prompting Seoul to scramble fighter jets and attack helicopters, and try to shoot them down, in the first such intrusion since 2017.

Fighting in the 1950-1953 Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty, and a demilitarised zone between the two Koreas.

North and South Korea have both violated the armistice that governs their shared border by sending drones into each other's airspace, the United States has said.

Countries, including South Korea, China and Britain, are racing to develop and deploy laser weapons, also known as directed energy weapons, according to the non-profit think-tank Rand