Jeon Dong-geun, chair of QuantumAero, emphasized that for Korea's defense industry to secure sustainable competitiveness, "a fundamental overhaul of weapons systems centered on AI is urgent."
On the 7th at the company's headquarters in Nonhyeon-dong, Gangnam, Seoul, Jeon said, "K-defense is delivering results in the global market, but if an 'AI great transformation (AX)' integrating AI into existing systems does not happen, the future will be hard to guarantee."
While major domestic companies such as LIG Nex1, KAI, and Hyundai Rotem are leading K-defense exports, Jeon noted that without a shift to next-generation AI-based weapons systems, Korea's edge over competitors could waver.
QuantumAero, founded by Jeon in Feb. last year, is a defense technology company that integrates AI-based autonomous flight systems into weapons systems. Just over a year after its founding, it has attracted 7 billion won in investment and is drawing attention in the industry.
Jeon chose the leading U.S. AI defense startup Shield AI as a strategic partner. Valued at about $5.3 billion (about 7.8 trillion won), Shield AI is a company with cutting-edge technology in autonomous aircraft and drones, and its "AI pilot" technology is already deployed in real-world operations by government agencies in the United States and many other countries.
As Shield AI's official partner, QuantumAero is introducing the technology to Korea and advancing it into forms suited to the Korean weapons systems environment.
Jeon explained, "It is not realistic to apply a 100% domestically developed AI solution from the beginning," adding, "The right approach is to build a Korea-style AI based on world-class technology and gradually raise the localization rate."
QuantumAero's core solutions are various AI tools that help carry out missions autonomously in actual operations.
The approach is to supply Shield AI's AI pilot technology to domestic defense companies and, based on that, develop customized AI functions for each of the weapons systems.
Jeon said, "It is about equipping existing equipment such as drones, armored vehicles, and aviation platforms with AI autonomous flight and control capabilities," adding, "We have secured sophisticated customization capabilities tailored to the Korean military's operating environment."
Jeon assessed that the initiative on the battlefield is already being reshaped through AI.
Jeon said, "The Russia-Ukraine war clearly showed how drones change the course of war," adding, "It is an era in which an 8 billion won warship is sunk by a 300 million won drone." Jeon continued, "Depending on the ability to use AI, even countries with smaller budgets can gain an advantage on the battlefield."
Jeon warned that if AX does not happen in the defense sector, Korea risks falling behind in future global competition.
QuantumAero has recently been expanding cooperation with major domestic defense companies. It is pursuing joint research and demonstrations of AI-based weapons systems with KAI, LIG Nex1, and Hyundai Rotem.
Jeon said, "We are applying unmanned flight and unmanned control technologies to existing weapons systems and ramping up R&D to advance AI combat systems."
Jeon also predicted that AI will elevate the export competitiveness of K-defense by a notch.
Jeon said, "We will apply QuantumAero's AI advancement technology to the weapons systems of large domestic corporations to build an overseas export structure," adding, "We are already pushing a joint export project for unmanned combat systems with a specific country, and we expect visible results in 2027."