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KIST-Korean Air Force Cooperative Effort on National Defense Technology (2020.01.16)
- Date : 2020-02-26
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International Cooperation Team
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KIST-Korean Air Force Cooperative Effort on National Defense Technology
On January 15, at
its headquarters, KIST announced that it had signed an MOU with the Korean Air
Force to enhance mutual cooperation in the areas of research development and
improvement of the nation’s military capabilities.
Both parties
signed an agreement in recognition of the need to prepare for the changing
environment of the battlefield of the future, and to meet public demand for
Korea to have more scientific national defense. KIST is planning to explore
factors for military development and provide technical support, while the
Korean Air Force will actively cooperate with KIST’s military-related research
endeavors.
The President of
KIST, Dr. Byung Gwon Lee, stated, “By signing the MOU with the Korean Air
Force, KIST expects to strengthen the system for cooperation for military
technology development between government-funded organizations and the
military. KIST further expects that such an act serves as a good precedent for
securing civilian safety and achieving public goals.”
Meanwhile, KIST
has been steadily developing technologies related to national defense, such as
firearms, radios, high-speed naval boats, and bomb disposal robots. KIST has
recently completed two R&D projects with the Ministry of National Defense
on support systems for improving military strength. Among their
accomplishments, the development of the “Balkan Tracking Training Analyzer”,
which concluded in 2016, has led to its use in field operations since 2017. In
addition, the “new concept metal fuel cell,” the world’s first military salt
water-magnesium battery, will serve as a backup fuel cell in the next
generation of military radios. Its development was completed in April 2017, and
it will be used in operations once development of the radio is finished.
KIST has also
launched K-DARPA (KIST, Demand-based Aim-oriented Research for Public Agenda)
and since 2018, has been handling projects within seven sectors, such as national
defense and security, disaster and safety, et cetera, with its own budget.
Through K-DARPA, KIST plans to offer practical prototypes to the military using
its own original technology.