KAI to invest $76 mn in unmanned fighter jets

Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd. (KAI) has announced that it plans to invest 102.5 billion won ($76.64 million) in the development of core technologies in next-generation unmanned fighter jets.

This strategic investment aims to secure advanced technologies for integrated manned-unmanned systems.

It will cover a range of areas such as concept studies, autonomous flight demonstrations, artificial intelligence (AI) pilot operation control technologies, and the integration of high-performance data links.

KAI has set a mid-term goal to assume a leading role in the unmanned combat aircraft system development project, which the government intends to launch by 2030.

The ultimate aim of these efforts is to incorporate the developed integrated technologies into Korean-manufactured fighter jets, like the KF-21 and the domestically produced light attack aircraft FA-50, thereby boosting their export competitiveness.

Last year, KAI reported record-breaking sales, achieving revenue of 3.82 trillion won and an operating income of 247.5 billion won.

This year, the company has set a sales target of 5.91 trillion won, which marks a 27.6% increase from the previous year.

KAI aims to surpass the typical order intake range of 3 trillion to 4 trillion won, targeting an order intake of 6 trillion won.

Write to Hyung-Kyu Kim at khk@hankyung.com