South Korea develops homegrown laser weapon technology to defend against drones

South Korea has developed a homegrown version of the laser oscillator at the heart of its Cheongwang laser weapon, replacing a German-made core component and opening the way to mass-producing low-cost drone interceptors with domestic technology.

The breakthrough matters because cheap, mass-produced weapons such as drones have become decisive tools in modern warfare, a lesson drawn from the wars in Ukraine and Iran.

The Agency for Defense Development and Hanwha Systems successfully developed the laser oscillator for the Block-I laser antiaircraft weapon, known as Cheongwang, in late May, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said Monday. Going forward, new Cheongwang systems will use the domestically-built oscillator in place of the German-made part relied on up until now.

Cheongwang, designed to counter North Korean drone swarms, was first fielded in December 2024, and around five units have since been deployed at major state facilities, including the Ministry of National Defense building. About 10 more are set to be fielded and stationed at key sites such as the National Assembly.

The counter-drone system fires a high-powered fiber-optic laser directly at its targets, destroying them with heat. Because it runs on electricity rather than ammunition, each shot costs about 2,000 won ($1.33), and the weapon can be operated indefinitely as long as power is supplied. It was built specifically for drones, which have become a fixture on the modern battlefield.

The newly-localized laser oscillator is the core part for determining key performance metrics such as beam output. Only the United States, Israel, China and Germany can currently develop and mass-produce it on their own, and related exports are tightly controlled, DAPA said.

“The domestically-produced oscillator has improved key performance, including output, by more than 50 percent compared to previously imported equipment,” a DAPA official said. 

In testing, the time needed to bring down a first-person view (FPV) drone dropped to one to two seconds from two to four seconds, while fixed-wing drones were downed within a few seconds, compared to more than 10 seconds previously, the agency said.

Cheongwang's laser output currently stands at the 20-kilowatt class, enough to disable small FPV drones. Cruise and tactical guided missiles require at least 100 kilowatts, while ballistic missiles and fighter jets call for hundreds of kilowatts or even megawatt-class power.

Building on localized technology, the government plans to raise output and precision and make the system smaller and lighter through a Block-II development program.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.

BY LEE YU-JUNG [cho.yongjun1@joongang.co.kr]