韩国军方无人系统缺统一通信标准，计划推进通用数据链研发

A South Korean defense contractor recently replaced the entire communications suite on a robot midway through a combat experiment for the Army Training and Doctrine Command. The task was a follow-on to two experiments conducted in the first half of the year, yet the communications specifications required in the second-half experiment had changed. With requirements such as frequency and security level altered, the company had to procure new communications equipment and redo the work of integrating it with the robot.
The military is moving quickly to adopt manned-unmanned teaming systems including robots and drones, but no common specifications exist for the communications and security modules those systems rely on. Companies find it hard to invest in military communications equipment ahead of demand, and only 10% of civilian technologies in fields such as drones and communications systems can be linked to defense component projects.
According to the defense industry on the 27th, there is currently no military communications or security module specification that can be applied across unmanned systems such as robots and drones. Because the required frequency, communications method and security level differ by service branch and by program, defense firms must respond to requirements case by case during development and testing. The Korea Cryptographic Module Validation Program (K-CMVP) verifies the safety of cryptographic modules, but there is no mandatory criterion or standard specification applied in common across defense programs.
The absence of common specifications also constrains domestic development of military communications equipment. Even if a company develops a product first, the research spending and time invested become a loss if the product does not match the specifications the military later sets. Differing requirements from program to program also force firms to modify existing equipment or develop new systems. "From a company's standpoint, communications equipment we build now could be rendered useless once specifications are set later," the head of one drone company said. "The military needs to present specifications first so that companies can invest in development accordingly."
The share of civilian technology that can be used as defense components in drones and communications systems is indeed low. According to the Korea Research Institute for Defense Technology Planning and Advancement's "2025 Survey of Privately Held Technologies Applicable to Defense," only 18 of 168 civilian technologies classified as having potential defense applications, or 10.7%, could be linked to component localization projects in communications systems or small reconnaissance drones. Even across all defense fields, 100 of the 168 technologies were not linked to any component localization project, indicating that opportunities to actually localize components are limited.
While domestic development lags, reliance on foreign military communications equipment is becoming entrenched. Development and testing sites for unmanned systems in South Korea mainly use products adopted by the U.S. military, such as Silvus Technologies' StreamCaster and Persistent Systems' MPU5. Fielding equipment with proven performance and security offers an immediate advantage, but concerns are growing that entrenched dependence will make it harder for domestic firms to accumulate communications and security technology and to build an industrial ecosystem.
Securing low-cost communications and security modules has become more urgent as the military begins fielding small drones on a large scale. Under its "500,000 Drone Warriors" plan, the Ministry of National Defense is expanding the number of personnel trained to operate drones and pushing large-scale adoption of domestically built commercial drones. Small drones used for education and training cost several million won per airframe and are replaced frequently, making it impractical to fit them with existing military communications equipment that runs tens of millions of won per unit.
That has prompted calls to develop domestic communications and security modules and to establish common specifications that can be applied broadly across unmanned systems. Choi Ki-il, a professor of military science at Sangji University and head of the Korea Defense Acquisition Program Research Institute, said a framework is needed. "There needs to be a way to flesh out criteria that can be applied in common to unmanned systems, building on existing security standards such as K-CMVP," the professor said. "Apply them in stages to minimize the development burden on companies, but the basic communications and security guidelines should be set as unified standards at the military level."
The military has begun to respond. The Ministry of National Defense is pursuing policies of modularization, commonization and openness with the aim of acquiring unmanned systems built to common standards, and as part of that plan it will launch a core technology research and development project this year for a "common data link for manned-unmanned teaming systems." A ministry official said the ministry will "develop communications system technology that secures common data link standards and security, and also secure dedicated frequencies for applying the technology."