[Defense Brief] Rapid Weapon Acquisition Must Not Remain Just Words

Policies Must Be Prepared First, Such as Eliminating Redundant Evaluation Factors

The key issue of the 2011 Ministry of National Defense audit was the K-9 self-propelled howitzer. Members of the National Assembly pointed out problems with the computer installed in the K-9. They raised concerns that while middle school students use Pentium-level computers, the computer installed in the K-9 was an outdated 386 or 486-level DOS computer. That was not all. They also criticized that the 4GB removable storage device (USB) used in the artillery computer tactical control system for calculating targets was supplied at 950,000 won each. That USB could be purchased online for just tens of thousands of won. This made the name "the strongest self-propelled howitzer" seem hollow.

Why was this the case? The background is as follows. In the early 1990s, when the K-9 was being developed, USB did not exist. However, the military demanded a storage capacity of 4GB. Since the military requested a large-capacity USB that was not available in the civilian market in small quantities, development costs inevitably increased. The development of the USB itself delayed the introduction of the K-9. This was because military agencies exerted pressure and intervened heavily from the development stage. By the time the K-9 was deployed, USB had become a common storage device.

What about other countries? Since 2014, the United States has been revising the Other Transaction Authority (OTA) law. The purpose of the OTA is to develop weapon systems or deploy developed weapons in actual combat within 2 to 5 years. The U.S. Army consolidated departments and agencies involved in weapon acquisition and established the Army Futures Command (AFC). The weapon acquisition period was reduced from 5 years to 1 year. The U.S. military plans to further shorten the acquisition period to introduce 21st-century game changers such as next-generation fighters equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) and swarm drones, drone-integrated armored vehicles, and hypersonic guided weapons. The UK’s Defence Innovation Centre (IRIS) and France’s Defence Innovation Agency (DIA) are also organizations born from innovations aimed at shortening weapon acquisition periods.

Of course, our military has also made efforts. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) introduced the Rapid Demonstration Acquisition Program in 2020. Companies selected for the rapid demonstration program must deliver products to the military within six months after signing the contract. However, focusing only on results has backfired. By the end of last year, 30 projects had been selected, but more than half?16 projects?failed to meet delivery deadlines. The rapid acquisition program has turned into a delayed project. Industry insiders say this is because DAPA pushed policies aggressively without thoroughly assessing delivery feasibility from the selection stage. A representative project is the vertical takeoff and landing drone for coastal surveillance. The military pressured companies to deliver drones that had not even been developed. Even if delivered, there is no additional contract. From the perspective of defense companies that poured development costs into the project, they suffer losses without even being able to produce the product.

On the 20th, President Yoon Suk-yeol chaired the 3rd meeting of the Defense Innovation Committee and emphasized, "Unnecessary procedures must be boldly reformed and streamlined so that deployment can occur as soon as possible after military demand is raised." He explained that applying general procedures to the introduction of new weapon systems causes delays, making timely deployment difficult. The military agreed, pledging to reduce the average weapon system acquisition period from the current 14 years to 7 years. To achieve this, they must first prepare multifaceted policies such as eliminating redundant evaluation factors, removing regulations, and strengthening incentives.

Sun Tzu, the famous general of the Wu state during China’s Spring and Autumn period, emphasized "speedy battle and speedy resolution (速戰速決)." In modern warfare, this means securing new technologies first. To turn this from mere words into policy, it is necessary to consider what should be prioritized first.

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