NATO’s interception of hostile Russian drones over Poland earlier this month highlights the escalating use of low-cost unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to test air defense systems.

But while NATO forces managed to destroy several drones during the Sept. 9 incursion, South Korea’s mixed record in countering North Korean UAVs over the years has exposed critical vulnerabilities in detection, tracking and response, most notably when the military failed to neutralize five drones that breached its airspace in Dec. 2022.

Despite some progress since then, experts told Korea Prothat South Korea’s counter-drone architecture remains fragmented and slow-moving, leaving its