The three firms signed a strategic memorandum of understanding on aerospace and defense AI cooperation on Monday at KAI's headquarters in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province.
Naver chief executive Choi Soo-yeon, Naver Cloud chief executive Kim Yu-won and KAI president and chief executive Kim Jong-chool attended the signing ceremony.
Under the pact, the companies plan to jointly develop a foundation AI model tailored to the defense sector, drawing on Team Naver's AI and cloud capabilities alongside KAI's systems-integration expertise.
The effort is aimed at securing sovereign defense AI, reducing reliance on foreign technology and expanding Korea's homegrown defense AI ecosystem.
Priority areas include autonomous drone flight, unmanned mission execution and an integrated AI platform for future combat systems, to be developed in tandem with KAI's Next-generation Air Combat System, which links manned and unmanned fighter jets with satellites and other battlefield assets.
The companies also intend to jointly pursue government-led national research and development projects and block-funding programs, and to embed AI into manned-unmanned teaming and other future aerospace platforms to raise autonomy levels.
"We will do our utmost to combine Team Naver's advanced AI capabilities with KAI's defense infrastructure to strengthen South Korea's technological sovereignty in national defense," Choi said.
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