Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) announced on the 19th that it signed a contract with the American company 'Shield AI' on the 5th for the use of Hivemind Enterprise (HME), an AI-based autonomous flight software applicable to unmanned aerial vehicles and drones.
Shield AI's HME is software that establishes, evaluates, and verifies autonomy for mission execution in unmanned aerial vehicle drones. It has been applied since 2018 to F-16 (X-62 VISTA), GA-ASI MQ-20 Avenger, and Kratos MQM-178 Firejet, showcasing AI-based autonomous flight capabilities.
KAI plans to use HME to verify the free-flight technology of the AI pilot it is independently developing and integrate it into the multipurpose unmanned aerial vehicle (AAP) prototype, moving forward with demonstrations. This strategy aims to shorten the development period of the AI pilot and enhance the technology.
KAI engineers plan to visit Shield AI's headquarters in the United States next month to receive training and discuss the direction of software utilization.
Choi Nak-seon, head of KAI's AI/Electronic Warfare Research Center, said, "We will rapidly verify the AI pilot technologies being independently developed by KAI in various ways and elevate them to a global standard," and noted, "Please pay attention to the evolution and growth of Korea's representative AI pilot 'KAYLA.'"