Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) has formed a strategic alliance with Naver and Naver Cloud to begin co-developing a “Physical AI” future combat system platform based on South Korea’s own independent technology. As competition intensifies within the global defense industry to leverage artificial intelligence as the brain of weapon systems, this collaboration is drawing attention as a partnership between South Korea’s leading aerospace and defense company and its top AI and cloud providers.

KAI announced on the 7th that it had signed a strategic partnership agreement (MOU) with Team Naver (Naver, Naver Cloud) the previous day at its headquarters in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province, for cooperation in the aerospace and defense AI sector. The signing ceremony was attended by top executives from all three companies, including KAI CEO Kim Jong-chul, Naver CEO Choi Soo-yeon, and Naver Cloud CEO Kim Yoo-won.

Through this agreement, the three companies will establish a comprehensive cooperation framework spanning from technology development to commercialization. Key areas of collaboration include: securing defense sovereign AI and developing proprietary models; jointly discovering new defense AI business opportunities; advancing Physical AI; and expanding the defense AI ecosystem.

From Autonomous UAV Flight to the AI Pilot ‘K-AILOT’

The initial phase of cooperation will focus on autonomous flight and mission execution technology for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), as well as the development of an integrated AI platform for future combat systems. The goal is to reduce dependence on foreign technology and secure an independent defense AI model optimized for South Korea’s domestic security environment. The partnership will also establish a foundation for safely utilizing sensitive military data within a domestic cloud infrastructure without the risk of external leakage.

The linkage with KAI’s Next-generation Air Combat System (NACS) is also noteworthy. NACS is a future air combat concept that hyper-connects manned fighter jets, UAVs, satellites, and command-and-control systems for integrated operations. As a core technology for this system, KAI is developing an AI pilot called “K-AILOT.” This technology recognizes battlefield situations and supports aircraft control and mission execution, and is expected to be a key factor determining the autonomy level of future Manned-Unmanned Teaming (MUM-T) systems.

KAI is already expanding its development of multi-purpose UAVs, MUM-T systems, and AI-based autonomous systems. During UAV demonstration processes this year, the company is reportedly advancing autonomous mission technologies including basic navigation, obstacle avoidance, and target recognition.

Naver Takes on the ‘Brain’ and ‘Infrastructure’ of Defense AI

In this collaboration, Team Naver will serve as the “brain” and “infrastructure” of defense AI. Naver has accumulated AI technology specialized for the Korean language and domestic industrial environment through its proprietary hyperscale AI model, “HyperCLOVA X.” Naver Cloud will provide full-stack AI capabilities encompassing data centers, AI models, and application services.

In the defense sector, “sovereign AI” is recognized as more than just technology localization—it is about securing data control and model operation rights. Since data related to operations, intelligence, and weapon systems must minimize the risk of external leakage, demand is growing for closed, dedicated AI infrastructure utilizing domestic cloud services and proprietary models. Naver CEO Choi Soo-yeon emphasized, “By combining Team Naver’s advanced AI capabilities with KAI’s defense infrastructure, we will do our utmost to solidify South Korea’s technological sovereignty in national defense and security, and create new global competitiveness for the future defense industry.”

Commercialization Linkage and Ecosystem Expansion

The three companies plan to move beyond the research and development (R&D) stage and connect their work to tangible commercialization. They intend to jointly participate in government-led national R&D projects and block funding initiatives to preemptively secure core technologies for next-generation defense Physical AI, while acquiring technology applicable to actual military operational environments. Furthermore, they envision expanding AI cooperation frameworks with partner companies in the defense and aerospace sectors to boost the overall competitiveness of South Korea’s domestic defense AI ecosystem.

KAI CEO Kim Jong-chul stated, “I am confident that by combining KAI’s aerospace and defense expertise with Team Naver’s AI and cloud technology, South Korea can establish technological sovereignty in defense AI and enhance its global competitiveness in Physical AI-based UAVs and future combat systems.” He added, “As global defense AI competition is fiercer than ever, a joint response combining the core capabilities of our three companies is necessary.”

Within the defense industry, AI is seen as expanding beyond a simple analytical tool into the judgment and control functions of combat systems. In particular, “Physical AI”—which physically embeds AI into UAVs, robots, and aerial platforms—is evaluated as a core technology for future warfare. Attention is focused on whether the KAI-Naver collaboration will accelerate the AI transformation of South Korea’s entire domestic defense ecosystem.