South Korea to mass produce lasers that can blow drones out of the sky for just $1.50 each

South Korea has announced it will begin deploying laser weapons systems designed to intercept drones from North Korea, which have been causing headaches for years in South Korea.

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South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration said it will deploy at least one anti-air laser weapons system, something it called "Block-I", by the end of 2024, and many more of them in the years to come. The agency said in a statement that its new Block-I system is capable of launching precision attacks on small incoming drones and multi-copters.

The system was reportedly developed by South Korean company Hanwha Aerospace, with a cost of just 2000 won (which is around $1.50 USD) per shot. An agency official who requested anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak to the media regarding the issue, said: "We face North Korea on our doorstep and its drones pose present threats to us, so that's why we've been aiming to build and deploy laser weapons soon to cope with them".

The anonymous source said that other countries like the United States and Israel are far ahead of South Korea when it comes to laser weapons technology, but South Korea has a specific focus on higher-powered laser guns that are capable of shooting down incoming ballistic missiles.

South Korea hopes to develop these anti-missile laser systems, with its defense agency calling it a "game changer" in the future of combat environments. The super-low $1.50 cost per shot is one of the massive driving factors here, compared to the hundreds, thousands, and hundreds of thousands for other options used to take drones out of the sky.