Air Force Missile Defense Command holds integrated air and missile defense forum

Air Force Chief of Staff Son Seok-rak calls for cost-effective, layered defense systems

The Air Force Missile Defense Command holds the 2026 Integrated Air and Missile Defense Forum at the Air Force Hotel in Seoul on Thursday. [Air Force]
The Air Force Missile Defense Command holds the 2026 Integrated Air and Missile Defense Forum at the Air Force Hotel in Seoul on Thursday. [Air Force]

Experts are calling on South Korea's military to shift its air and missile defense posture toward low-cost, high-efficiency solutions as the country faces the growing threat of simultaneous drone and missile attacks. Rather than relying solely on expensive interceptor missiles, they argue the military needs a multilayered response tailored to each type of threat — with detection, command and control, and interception integrated into a single system.

The Air Force Missile Defense Command held the 2026 Integrated Air and Missile Defense Forum at the Air Force Hotel in Seoul on Thursday. Co-hosted by the Air Force, the Korea Defense Industry Association and Jeonbuk National University, the event drew more than 450 civilian, government, military, industry and academic experts from home and abroad.

The forum's theme was "Changes in the Air and Missile Defense Paradigm as Seen Through the Middle East War." Participants analyzed the complex drone and missile threats observed in recent conflicts and discussed how South Korea's military should respond.

Air Force Chief of Staff Son Seok-rak said in his opening remarks that the military would develop "a complex, multilayered and overlapping defense system that takes cost-effectiveness into account, keeping pace with the combined drone and missile threat and AI-driven changes on the battlefield." He went on to say the military would "thoroughly prepare for the enemy's increasingly sophisticated missile threats and lead the future battlefield, drawing on the expert insights discussed at this forum."

A central issue raised at the forum was the "cost asymmetry" between offense and defense. Participants highlighted the difficulty of relying on conventional interceptor missiles alone when faced with mass attacks by cheap kamikaze drones and ballistic and cruise missiles.

Kim Jin-gi, chairman of the Korea Defense Industry Association, said the lesson that "relying solely on interceptor missiles at the same level as before cannot sustain the asymmetry in volume and cost" applies equally to South Korea. He said the country needs a low-cost, high-efficiency multilayered defense system, joint command-and-control capabilities linking all domains, and a flexible acquisition regime that enables timely force development.

Tom Karako, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), delivered the keynote address, stressing the importance of "integration" alongside expanding the quantity of weapons systems.

Karako said the future of air and missile defense "depends not just on acquiring more sensors, interceptors and launchers, but on making them work as a single integrated force." He explained that sensors must share information, command-and-control systems must interpret it, and launchers must be able to respond rapidly.

He particularly urged greater interoperability between South Korea and the United States on the Korean Peninsula, saying that in light of missile threats from North Korea and China, USFK and South Korean military systems must be able to detect, assess and act together.

Securing interceptor stockpiles and expanding production capacity for a prolonged conflict were also identified as priorities. Pointing to the massive ammunition consumption seen in recent wars, Karako said there is a need for "ammunition replenishment and expanded procurement, modernization of the defense industrial base, and missile defense cooperation between the United States and its allies."

The forum traces its origins to the "Air Defense Artillery Combat Development Seminar" launched in 1996 and is now in its 31st year. The Air Force has renamed it the Integrated Air and Missile Defense Forum and is developing it into an international platform for discussion of evolving aerial threats.

Nam Hyeong-ju, director of intelligence operations at the Missile Defense Command, said the forum was "a meaningful occasion to explore the direction of our military's integrated air and missile defense development, grounded in the complex and asymmetric threats and the importance of low-cost, high-efficiency defense confirmed in the Middle East war." He added that the command would "develop integrated air and missile defense capabilities to meet the rapidly changing security environment through close cooperation with experts at home and abroad."


rimsclub@heraldcorp.com