South Korea plans to roll out 'Star Wars' laser weapon to melt North Korean drones for just $1.50 a hit

• South Korea plans to deploy a low-cost laser weapon to shoot down North Korean drones.
• The weapon, called Block-I, will cost around just $1.45 a shot.

South Korea is set to deploy a low-cost laser weapon that can melt North Korean drones, the country's arms agency said earlier this week.

The weapon, known as Block-I, will cost around 2,000 South Korean won ($1.45) a shot and "is capable of precise strikes against small unmanned aerial vehicles," according to South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA).

The "Star Wars project" is set to be ready for "full-scale operation" this year, per the DAPA, which added that the laser system would help strengthen South Korea's ability "to respond to North Korea's drone provocations."

Lee Sang-yoon, a DAPA official, told AFP that the laser worked by transferring heat to oncoming drones.

"When a laser weapon transfers heat to a drone, its surface melts. As the surface melts, the internal components catch fire, causing the drone to eventually fall," Lee said.

It follows calls from South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in 2022 for stronger air defenses after the South Korean military failed to bring down a number of North Korean drones that had ventured across the border for the first time in five years.

Laser weapons have been garnering increasing international interest in recent years.

According to the think tank RAND, Israel, China, Russia, France, India, Turkey, Iran, South Korea, and Japan are just some of the countries investing in national programs.

Earlier this year, the UK announced that it had tested a new high-power laser that could be used against Russian drones in Ukraine.

According to the UK's Ministry of Defence (MoD), the DragonFire weapon typically costs less than $13 a shot.

The US has also previously hinted that laser systems may be available to protect bases in the Middle East from drone and missile attacks, although it's unclear whether they have been used.

"Competing nations are pouring so much investment into DEWs because, if the technology can be matured, such systems hold the potential to tip both the military and economic calculus of modern warfare in their users' favour," RAND said in a report.