Korean Air (003490) said on the 17th that it successfully completed a swarm flight demonstration of artificial intelligence-based unmanned aerial vehicles it developed on its own at the 2026 Defense Drone Technology Competition, held by the Ministry of National Defense on the 16th at the Seungjin training range in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province.
The technologies Korean Air showcased were swarm flight and swarm strike by AI drones. Using autonomous swarm control technology, 22 drones flew simultaneously without collisions and completed their missions. Two lead drones on reconnaissance duty detected threats and carried out target reconnaissance using AI-based real-time automatic target recognition (ATR) technology. Another 10 drones disrupted and deceived enemy air defenses through high-maneuver swarm flight, while the remaining 10 dived vertically onto the targets identified by the advance group and struck them simultaneously with precision and no margin of error. Korean Air was the only participating company to complete the demonstration with AI drone technology developed independently in South Korea.
The demonstration was conducted in an unusual format, with AI briefing the drones' mission status directly. Situation updates such as "Position confirmed. Switching to target identification phase" and "Precision strike mission successfully completed" were relayed in real time by an AI voice, drawing a strong response from spectators.
The AI briefing drew on an AI-based comprehensive monitoring system developed by Korean Air. Rather than simply playing back audio tied to a pre-written scenario, the system has AI grasp the mission status in real time and report it. It was developed as a solution optimized for field conditions, gathering data such as UAV status and weather information in response to user questions.
The autonomous swarm control, simultaneous swarm strike and AI-based comprehensive monitoring shown that day are all operated through Korean Air's own integrated battlefield management system. Whereas one person previously controlled a single drone, the demonstration proved a capability in which one person can control multiple UAVs at once using AI technology, the company said.
A Korean Air official said the demonstration was "a successful case in which drones completed their mission autonomously by combining AI with the UAV development and flight control technologies we have accumulated over decades," adding, "With technology Korean Air developed on its own, we will contribute to strengthening South Korea's drone technology capabilities and lead the domestic drone industry."
