Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) has partnered with Shield AI, a key developer of the U.S. X-62 VISTA, to validate AI-powered autonomous flight capabilities.
KAI announced on Wednesday that it signed an agreement with Shield AI on March 5 to utilize HYBE Mind Enterprise (HME), an AI-based autonomous flight software for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and drones. The agreement was made through a three-party arrangement with Quantum Aero, Shield AI’s domestic supplier.
Shield AI’s HME is software designed to build, evaluate, and verify autonomy for mission execution in UAVs and drones. In 2018, it was applied to the F-16, demonstrating AI-based autonomous flight capabilities.
KAI plans to utilize HME to validate the free-flight technology of its independently developed AI pilot and integrate it into a scaled-down version of its multipurpose UAV (AAP) for demonstration. This strategy aims to shorten the AI pilot development timeline and enhance its technological capabilities.
Next month, KAI engineers will visit Shield AI’s headquarters in San Diego for training and discussions on potential software applications.
Choi Nak Seon, head of KAI’s AI and Electronic Warfare Research Center, stated, “We are committed to rapidly validating our AI pilot technologies through various methods and elevating them to world-class standards. We invite the public to closely follow the evolution of KAILOT, our flagship AI pilot.”
With extensive aircraft development experience and a vast repository of flight data, KAI remains the only domestic company capable of developing AI pilots. The firm is ramping up investments in AI-driven technologies to strengthen its global market position.
KAI began researching AI pilot aircraft control technology in the latter half of 2023. In February of the previous year, it invested 102.5 billion KRW (70 million USD) in AI, big data, and autonomous systems development.
This year, the company plans to equip a scaled-down multipurpose UAV with an AI pilot to demonstrate basic navigation, obstacle avoidance, and target recognition capabilities. It also intends to integrate the AI pilot into the full-scale multipurpose UAV, which will be released later this year.
