South Korea is looking to develop "stealth" military drones that could help neutralise North Korea's anti-aircraft defence system.
Korean Air said last week that it had been selected as the preferred bidder by the Korean Agency for Defence Development.
The basic design of the UAV squadron has been finished byADD. The agency is going to work with Korean Air.
Korean Air will develop a "manned-unmanned teaming system" in which one manned aircraft is backed by three to four stealth drones in carrying out various missions.
The squadron of drones will support and escort a manned aircraft, but will also be able to perform its own missions, such as electronic interference tactics and precise strikes.
As the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues, it's clear that drones are becoming an important part of war machines, with both sides using them to hit targets or to direct fire onto them.
According to a defence analyst at the Korea Defence Forum, the United States, China and Russia are all trying to develop man-unmanned teaming systems.
In the past decade or so, South Korea has developed a number of drones.
He told This Week in Asia that developing highly-sophisticated manned-unmanned teaming systems that use top-of-the-line artificial intelligence will take a lot of time and effort. It's anyone's guess when South Korea can build such a system.
Lee said the concept of "loyal wingman" aircraft had gained traction around the world. The US Air Force plans to use expendable drones to assist manned fighters.
Unmanned aircraft such as the Boeing Australia MQ-28 Ghost Bat had been developed.
Lee said that the massive use of drones has a clear appeal to South Korea because it doesn't have a reliable way of defusing North Korea's anti-aircraft defence system.
The exemption of years of pilot training is one of the merits of drones.
Combat missions can be carried out in the front while manned vehicles are safe from hostile fire. The air force's operational range could be greatly increased by this.
It will take at least 10 years for South Korea to combine its KF-21 fighters with drones. He said that the US could integrate its stealth F-35s with drones in the future.
South Korea currently has 40 F-35A fighter jets and plans to buy 20 more from the US as part of its F-X project.
Both Lee and Shin raised questions about the idea of using stealth drones to "decapitate" North Korea's leader.
South Korea's conservative government has made no secret of the fact that it would consider pre-emptive strikes against the North's missiles.
Lee said stealth fighters didn't need to be accompanied by slow drones for striking targets behind enemy lines because they could carry two 900 kilogram bombs.
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