US armed forces conducts first $2,000 attack drone live-fire test near North Korean border
The exercise took place on August 5 at the Rodriguez Live-Fire Complex in Pocheon, where Marines from 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment flew six Archer FPV drones towards mock barracks located about 900 metres away. All six struck their intended targets.
The drill was part of a two-stage series that began six days earlier near Pohang and was designed to move FPV attack drones from experimentation into operational use by US forces deployed in the region.
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What drone did US Marines use?
The drone used in the exercise was the Archer, assembled in California by Neros Technologies. The airframe costs around $2,000, while a complete system including the drone, warhead and required support equipment costs closer to $5,000.
The Marine Corps puts the Archer’s effective range at approximately 20 kilometres, or 12.4 miles. The service has contrasted that with traditional squad-level infantry weapons, which generally have ranges of around one to two kilometres.
Neros’ own figures are somewhat different. Kenneth Inocencio, the company’s Asia-Pacific growth lead, told Stars and Stripes that the Archer can travel about 15.5 miles, reach speeds of roughly 81 mph and penetrate close to four inches of steel with an anti-armour payload.The company was founded in 2023 by Soren Monroe-Anderson and Olaf Hichwa, former competitive drone racers who travelled to Ukraine to study the large-scale use and production of FPV drones.
Six drones hit targets 900 metres away
The first exercise in the series took place on July 30 near Pohang, around 210 miles southeast of Seoul. It involved the 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion.
The Pocheon exercise was the second event and involved 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment. Both units fall under the 4th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, and were deployed to the Pacific through the unit deployment programme.
The drills were conducted as part of the Korea Marine Exchange Program, an annual exercise involving US and South Korean forces.
According to Yonhap, all six drones used at the Pocheon range struck the mock barracks. The Marines flew the aircraft using their onboard cameras, guiding them towards the targets until the video feed ended at impact.
US Army soldiers from the 2nd Infantry Division/ROK-US Combined Division also participated, loading C4 into the drones’ payload carriers. It was the division’s first live-ordnance exercise with the system.
Why the location matters
Although the Archer is advertised with a range of around 20 kilometres, the Marines used it against targets only about 900 metres away during the Korean exercise.
The training took place in Pocheon, roughly 15 miles south of the North Korean border, making the exercise significant not only for the technology being tested but also for the operational and safety arrangements required to use armed FPV drones in a heavily militarised environment.
The exercise required coordination between the 4th Marine Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, Eighth Army, 2nd Combat Aviation Brigade and South Korean authorities. Dry-fire rehearsals were conducted before the live iterations, with an airspace and safety framework established for the drills.
The exercise therefore served as a test of procedures around live attack drones as well as the aircraft itself.
Drone production is also expanding
The Korean exercise comes as Neros seeks to rapidly increase Archer production. The company is currently producing about 1,200 drones a week and has stated a target of reaching one million drones annually by 2028.
Neros has set an intermediate goal of producing 10,000 drones a month by December. Its production operation now occupies a 250,000-square-foot facility in Torrance, California, compared with the 15,000-square-foot facility in El Segundo where the company began.
The US Army awarded Neros an indefinite-delivery contract on June 30 with a ceiling of $500 million through June 2031. The ceiling represents the maximum value of the contract and does not itself guarantee that amount in orders.
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Neros raises $250 million
Neros announced an additional major development on August 11, when it raised $250 million in a Series C funding round at a post-money valuation of $2.5 billion. The round was co-led by Sequoia Capital and the American Strategic Technology Fund, with Interlagos, Valor Equity Partners, Allen & Company, Thiel Capital, Spark Capital and Figma co-founder Dylan Field also participating.
The company is developing two products with the new funding. Archer AI retains a human operator while adding terminal guidance and a position-hold function intended to maintain control when satellite navigation is unavailable.
The company is also developing Bandit, a counter-drone interceptor designed to target Class 2 and Class 3 threats, including Shahed-style aircraft.
For the Marines, however, the immediate significance of the Korean exercise was more direct: six low-cost attack drones were flown against six targets in a live-fire setting, marking a first for the service on the Korean Peninsula.
