Ministry of National Defense Republic of Korea

Key objectives of Defense Innovation 4.0:

Accelerating the conversion into manned-unmanned teams and digital

Optimizing the structure centering on specialists in science and technology

Pushing ahead with the development of a new strategy that meets the needs of the future battlefield environment

Securing widespread support from the people by communicating and building consensus

The key objective of the Defense Innovation 4.0 initiative is to transform into ‘armed forces fight to win.’ To this end, the Defense Innovation 4.0 initiative will set out to build strong forces backed by advanced science and technology on the basis of fourth industrial revolution technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and Big Data, and unmanned vehicles and robots. Significantly, the Ministry of National Defense has expressed its willingness to redesign and reform the entire field of defense with a determination to ‘secondly found armed forces’ by building an open cooperative system to accept those technologies in which the civilian sector has the advantage, and develop a new military strategy and concept of operation which meets the needs of a new-concept advanced weapon system.

Conversion into strong forces backed by science and technology is ‘indispensable’

The ministry acknowledges that conversion into strong forces backed by AI-based science and technology is not optional but rather is indispensable for our military, the defense reform office (reform office) that is promoting the Defense Innovation 4.0 initiative said in a statement. The reason why the ministry is pushing the Defense Innovation 4.0 initiative is its awareness of the crisis caused by all threats affecting the Republic of Korea, including North Korea’s advanced and diversified nuclear and missile threats, the added uncertainty in the security situation, an increase of the global competition for technology hegemony, and a decrease in military service resources caused by the second demographic cliff.

The ministry also takes into consideration the trend in which the countries with an advanced military are scrambling to promote a shift towards a military paradigm focused on advanced science and technology by grafting advanced science and technologies, such as AI, Big Data, drones and robots, into defense in preparation for future warfare and expanding the battlefield to new domains, including space, cyber and electromagnetic capability.

“If we do not respond proactively to the challenges in the defense environment due to our own lack of awareness of the challenges, the military gap with the advanced countries will grow bigger,” an official from the reform office said. “It will become even more difficult to respond to asymmetric threats, including North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats and cyber threats, and the force vacuum caused by a lack of military service resources after 2035 may become a reality. It is difficult to overcome the present and the future threats, and challenges, such as technical advance and demographic cliff, without a radical reform to our defense,” the official explained.

The direction for the Defense Innovation 4.0 initiative is obvious. The initiative aims to take our military’s response capabilities to the next level by advancing the three-axis defense system based on advanced science and technology, and to make the military structure with economy of force a reality by converting into AI-based manned-unmanned teaming. It also aims to resolve the persistent problems and threats in the area of defense, through minimization of casualties in wartime and building a low-cost and high efficiency defense system. Furthermore, the initiative predicts that the fusion of defense science and technology with advanced science and technology from the civilian sector will serve as a new growth engine for national development.

Completing the master plan by shaping up tasks in five areas

While establishing the master plan for the Defense Innovation 4.0 initiative, the ministry plans to shape up tasks in five specific areas. First, the ministry plans to ‘redesign the defense research and development (R&D) and force improvement system’ to increase the speed and scope of advanced science and technology’s entry to the defense area. With this, the ministry will reform the defense R&D system into a military-industry-academy-institute defense R&D system and revise the relevant laws and institutions. The ministry will also lead a push forward with reorganization and adjustment of functions, with the aim of redesigning the Korean force improvement system and effectively applying advanced science and technology to the defense area.

The ministry will maximize the range and efficiency of its utilization of advanced science and technology by ‘expanding the defense science and technology base.’ Plans include applying AI and accelerating the conversion into digital in the whole field of defense, and building an infrastructure to efficiently operate the network-based AI-mounted unmanned and robot combat system. To strengthen the ROK-US technical alliance, the ministry also plans to build a forward-looking partnership and strengthen cooperation and exchanges in the area of defense science and technology.

‘Optimization of military structure and defense management’ is also essential for the response to changes in the defense environment, such as the decrease in the population, embodiment of a new concept of operation and effective operation of the advanced weapon system. The ministry will innovate the military structure into a structure based on advanced science and technology. To this end, the ministry will reinforce the efficiency of operational command, redesign the command structure to make it optimized for military buildup based on advanced science and technology, and push forward with conversion into the groundbreaking unit structure, including a joint unit which can accept changes in the future operational environment. The ministry will check the optimal size of a standing force, develop into a defense manpower structure focusing on specialists in science and technology, and redesign into a force structure that has a qualitative edge based on the concept of ‘High-Low Mix.’ Regarding the area of defense management, the ministry will create new value by incorporating advanced science and technology into the area of defense management, including education and training, reserve forces, development of human resources, and logistics systems.

The ministry will also push forward with the ‘development of a new military strategy and concept of operation’ that meets the challenges of the future battlefield environment. This means the ministry will develop an AI-based unmanned and robot combat system, a jointness-centered Korean concept of operation, and the concept of operation in new domains, including space, cyber and electromagnetic capabilities, as well as a new military strategy in consideration of a forward-thinking security environment and the development of science and technology.

Here, securing the ‘key advanced force’ to realize the concept of operating a military force centering on the advanced force is also critical. The ministry plans to shape up the way to build the gradual AI-based unmanned and robot combat system, and plans to seek a qualitative change in combat power by sufficiently securing advanced and asymmetric power. The ministry also plans to significantly reinforce its deterrence and response capabilities against North Korea by overwhelmingly expanding the Korean three-axis defense system and establishing a strategic command.

The ministry plans to complete the master plan for the Defense Innovation 4.0 initiative by shaping up tasks and duties for each area in five areas.

Open innovation to accompany the people

After the establishment of a master plan, the Ministry of National Defense also set forth three strategies: △ select and concentrate, △ realize and feel, and △ communicate and empathize. In keeping with the ‘select and concentrate’ strategy, the ministry plans to concentrate on the tasks that have been selected from the field that needs a fundamental change, among the core fields related to the advanced science and technology.