Han pushes "Star Wars" project to shoot down North Korean drones with lasers

South Korea will produce laser weapons this year to shoot down North Korean drones, becoming the first country to deploy and operate such weapons in its military.

The South Korean Defense Acquisition Agency said in a statement Thursday (July 11) that this is the first project to be applied to the Star Wars program.

The statement said that the "Block-Ⅰ" laser weapon through the optical fiber generated transmission of laser beams directly burned the target, precision strike North Korea's small unmanned aerial vehicles. The weapon is invisible and silent, and costs only 2,000 won (about S $2) per launch.

The Defense Acquisition Program Administration says these weapons will change the battlefield in the future.

With a budget of 87.1 billion won (about S $85 million) from the South Korean government in August 2019, it was developed by the Institute for Defense Research, and Hanwha Aerospace participated in production testing, before being approved for operational missions in April last year. The Defense Acquisition Acquisition Administration (DAPA) signed a contract with Hanwha Aerospace in June and is expected to deliver the product and put it into operation within this year.