Minister of Science and ICT Visits Air Force, Pledges Support for Building Intelligent Smart Units

[Asia Economy Reporter Seulgina Jo] "We will actively support the establishment of intelligent smart units."

On the afternoon of the 9th, Choi Ki-young, Minister of Science and ICT, and Jeong Kyeong-doo, Minister of National Defense, visited the Air Force 20th Fighter Wing, the site of the '4th Industrial Revolution Smart Defense Innovation' initiative, and made this announcement.

According to the Ministry of Science and ICT, this site visit was conducted to verify the progress of the '4th Industrial Revolution Technology-Based Smart Defense Innovation' being promoted by the Ministry of National Defense in connection with Defense Reform 2.0, and to examine the strategy for building intelligent smart units.

Intelligent smart units refer to units that apply new technologies of the 4th Industrial Revolution such as AI, big data, AR·VR, 5G, and Internet of Things (IoT) to defense, enabling real-time understanding of all unit statuses and operational situations. It is evaluated that transparency, efficiency, and rationality in unit operations utilizing various staff functions such as personnel management, logistics, facilities, and energy can be dramatically improved.

On that day, the two ministers received a briefing on the status of the intelligent smart wing construction from Hong Soon-taek, commander of the Air Force 20th Fighter Wing, at the operations command center, and confirmed an advanced unit management system centered on commanders, including a base security system using drones and intelligent CCTV, and a remote monitoring system for power, weather, and vehicle information based on IoT.

Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo stated, “Through the establishment of smart units applying 4th Industrial Revolution technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and big data, all unit statuses and operational situations will be visualized in real-time for commanders. New technologies will be applied not only to personnel and logistics management but also to facilities, energy, budget, medical and health management, enabling integration of functions and dramatically enhancing commanders’ decision-making capabilities, transforming into an advanced and strong military.”

Minister Choi Ki-young said, “Seeing firsthand the achievements of the 4th Industrial Revolution smart defense innovation being promoted by our military makes me feel reassured as a citizen, and the Ministry of Science and ICT will actively support the establishment of intelligent smart units.”

On the same day, the two ministers experienced autonomous vehicles jointly developed and operated with private companies, the smart digital control tower developed under the Ministry of Science and ICT’s R&D projects, and the VR-based flight training system developed by the military. They also directly observed the actual operational application of established systems such as the pilot emergency scramble system and drone response system.

The two ministers agreed, “By utilizing the Air Force 20th Fighter Wing as a testbed, we can introduce new technologies from the civilian sector into the defense sector to scientificize the defense operational environment, and apply the results from the defense sector back to the civilian sector to contribute to revitalizing the civilian economy.”

After the demonstration, a meeting was held with key stakeholders in attendance, where they agreed to continue public-private-military cooperation not only for the Ministry of National Defense’s intelligent smart wing pilot system construction but also for promoting Defense Reform 2.0 and smart defense innovation.

The Ministry of Science and ICT will actively support national research and development (R&D) projects for the establishment of intelligent smart units promoted by the Ministry of National Defense. Additionally, through public-private-military cooperation, excellent technologies from the civilian sector will be rapidly applied to defense (Spin-On), and the results of new technology demonstrations in the defense sector will be provided to the civilian sector (Spin-Off), thereby promoting national innovative growth through civil-military convergence (Spin-Up).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.