American and South Korean troops carried out counter-drone training at Camp Humphreys, South Korea, on August 20, 2025, as part of the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise.
The training, conducted by the ROK-U.S. Combined Division’s 652nd Air Defense unit in coordination with the U.S. Army’s 5-17 Air Cavalry Squadron, focused on detecting and suppressing hostile drones that pose a growing risk to air bases and critical facilities.
According to the division, service members practiced using Dronebuster equipment to locate and jam unmanned aerial systems. The drills were aimed at refining procedures to safeguard personnel and infrastructure in the event of an adversary employing drones in contested airspace.
Counter-unmanned aerial systems (C-UAS) training has taken on greater importance in recent years, reflecting battlefield lessons drawn from conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East. The exercise at Camp Humphreys was designed to simulate realistic scenarios, ensuring soldiers can respond quickly to drone incursions and minimize risks to aviation operations.
“The ability to detect and neutralize aerial threats is vital to protecting our forces and maintaining operational readiness,” the division said in a release. Officials stressed that practicing these measures during Ulchi Freedom Shield enhances the combined force’s ability to respond to evolving threats across multiple domains.
Ulchi Freedom Shield is an annual combined exercise held under the ROK-U.S. Mutual Defense Treaty, first signed in 1953. The program highlights the two nations’ commitment to maintaining a strong combined defense posture and to defending the Republic of Korea against any potential aggression.
At Camp Humphreys, soldiers rehearsed procedures in detecting drones using both visual and electronic means before engaging with suppression tools. Training included scenarios where unmanned systems attempted to approach airfield perimeters, requiring rapid identification and jamming to deny adversaries intelligence collection or attack opportunities.
The dronebuster system, a man-portable countermeasure device, allows operators to disrupt control links and navigation signals, rendering hostile drones ineffective. By training with the system in a live environment, soldiers enhanced their familiarity with equipment that could play a key role in countering future threats.