7th Air Force seeks new counter-drone capabilities for point defense modernization in South Korea
The U.S. Air Force is conducting market research to support efforts to beef up its point defense capabilities in South Korea against small unmanned aerial systems and other drones.
A new RFI released Monday to support “Project Iron Sentry” noted that 7th Air Force, which is headquartered at Osan Air Base, is seeking “combat-proven, theater-wide C-sUAS/C-UAS capabilities” from vendors eligible under the Pentagon’s Accelerate the Procurement and Fielding of Innovative Technologies (APFIT) program.
The APFIT program is overseen by the Pentagon’s chief technology officer and provides funding to speed up the acquisition of new capabilities sought by combatant commands and other Defense Department components.
Monday’s RFI release comes amid growing concerns in the U.S. and South Korea about North Korea’s drone arsenal.
Last month, the Wall Street Journal reported that Pyongyang had started exercises to practice “swarm” operations that combine attack drones with missiles and other weapons.
Reuters reported Sunday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia may have provided its North Korean ally with jet-powered drone technology, which Moscow has been employing against Ukraine.
According to a U.S. Pacific Air Forces website, the mission of 7th Air Force is to “deter, protect and defend the Republic of Korea from attack from North Korea.”
Project Iron Sentry is related to “Korean Theater of Operations (KTO) Joint Point Defense Modernization,” per the RFI.
The market research effort comes amid a broader push by Air Force leadership to boost the service’s arsenal and prowess.
During his keynote address at AFA’s annual Air, Space and Cyber Conference in September, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Ken Wilsbach announced plans to develop a “Point Defense Weapon System” to protect air bases and service members and the creation of a new career field for airmen focused on point defense.
“For decades, American air and space power has often operated from a position of sanctuary. Those days are over. We can no longer treat point defense as a side hustle. We must make it a core function of air and space power,” Wilsbach said.
According to an Air Force press release, the Point Defense Weapon System will be an “integrated system-of-systems designed to connect sensors, command and control and layered kinetic and non-kinetic capabilities to detect, track and defeat airborne threats before they can disrupt installation operations.”
The service aims to have the new career field “operational” within two years.
“Establishing a new career field is about more than creating a specialty code,” Lt. Gen. Jefferson O’Donnell, Air Force deputy chief of staff for manpower, personnel and services, said in the press release. “We must build a professional community with the right training, experience, and career development to deliver this capability over time. Success is an Air Force where Airmen—recruited, trained, developed, and retained as point defense specialists—strengthen the Air Force’s ability to fight and win.”
