South Korea's Army Seeks to Automate Field Maintenance Amid Staff Shortages

The South Korean military is taking steps to automate more of its field maintenance and logistics operations, leveraging artificial intelligence, robotics, and autonomous systems. This move comes as the army prepares for a sustained decline in available personnel due to demographic changes.

As part of this effort, Army Headquarters has commissioned a study on converting key maintenance functions to automated systems. The project is tied to ArmyTiger L, which aims to transform its future force structure through advanced technologies. Specifically, it seeks to build what the army calls a ‘smart field maintenance support system’.

The need for automation in logistics and maintenance duties is pressing due to demographic decline. As personnel numbers steadily decrease, the military must make more efficient use of its workforce. Moreover, there’s a widening gap between advances in combat platforms and the systems used to maintain them.

While newer tanks, self-propelled howitzers, and other weapons systems require fewer crew members to operate, maintenance and support operations have not undergone a corresponding reduction in staffing requirements. This discrepancy is driving the army’s push for automation.

The study will examine AI-based predictive maintenance using small language models and machine learning. Additionally, it will assess ways to automate maintenance information management. The military also plans to evaluate civilian technologies such as maintenance robots, automated tools, and wearable strength-assist suits designed to reduce physical burdens on personnel.

For logistics operations, the army is looking at automated storage and handling systems, drone delivery, autonomous transport vehicles, and palletized load systems. Technologies will be evaluated according to unit type and echelon, including infantry, armored, mechanized infantry, and artillery units.

Some of these technologies are already being tested in various capacities. The Army’s 1st Supply Group unveiled a smart logistics center last week that has automated about 70 percent of its logistics processes. This system reduced on-site workforce requirements by approximately 16 percent while cutting average processing time from eight days to five.

Trials involving wearable robotic suits have been underway at ammunition units since July, and transport drones and palletized load systems are being examined for broader military logistics applications.

A military official stated that the study aims to distinguish between facilities and equipment that can be introduced immediately and capabilities that should be pursued over the medium and long term. The army also plans to draw up short- and mid-term implementation plans by 2040, outlining what a fully developed smart field maintenance unit should look like.