Samsung is marshaling information and communications technology capabilities from across the group to prepare for the bidding contest over the next-generation Korea Combat Command and Control System, or KCCS. The plan centers on Samsung SDS (018260), which would combine its artificial intelligence and cloud capabilities with Samsung Electronics' (005930) fifth-generation private wireless networks to build a defense AI transformation system that sets it apart from rivals. As the KCCS project gathers pace, competition among Samsung and other bidders in the defense AI transformation market is expected to intensify.
According to information technology industry sources on the 18th, the KCCS project blueprint drawn up by Samsung SDS calls for using commercial 5G networks as military networks and for developing and supplying the equipment needed to connect to that 5G network. Under the arrangement, Samsung SDS would handle construction of the 5G communications environment, while building the 5G interface equipment would fall to Samsung Electronics.
The division of labor between Samsung Electronics and Samsung SDS aligns closely with the goals of the KCCS project. The Ministry of National Defense is pursuing a three-stage rollout. In the second stage, known as KCCS 2.0, military authorities will begin integrating in earnest the command, control, communications, computers and intelligence, or C4I, systems that the army, navy and air force have used separately. C4I is a type of military operations software that displays in real time information gathered from surveillance devices and field units and helps staff officers draw up operational plans. Commanders use C4I to issue orders to subordinate units. The defense ministry is working to unify C4I across all services through the KCCS project and then upgrade it further by adding generative AI functions.
Because all services must operate on a single network with real-time information sharing and command transmission, a low-latency network environment is a prerequisite for KCCS. That is where Samsung SDS is playing its commercial 5G card. The company judges that a 5G network is needed to view ultra-high-resolution photographs and video on KCCS and to activate AI inference functions. The 5G proposal also appears designed to highlight the company's track record as a licensed telecommunications operator that has built private 5G networks, known in Korea as ieum 5G, for a number of companies. A private 5G network is a closed network accessible only to members of a specific organization or only at a specific location.
Cooperation between Samsung SDS and Samsung Electronics is also under discussion for another core task of the KCCS project: developing C4I terminals. Portable devices that let users intuitively view maps, photographs, video and generative AI output are essential on the battlefield. Samsung Electronics already makes the Galaxy Tactical line of smartphones for military operations and has been supplying the devices to the U.S. military since 2013. Cooperation between Samsung Electronics and Samsung SDS in pilot projects for the Korean military is also said to center largely on tactical phones.
On cloud and AI, the plan calls for using Samsung SDS solutions. KCCS is part of the defense AI transformation drive, and it requires newly developed AI functions to support battlefield analysis and operational planning. Because all services must use a single AI system, cloud adoption comes first. Samsung SDS has consistently argued that its Samsung Cloud Platform and its Brity Copilot AI service are well suited to defense AI transformation. At a recent corporate event, the company presented its own project experience while suggesting that private technology companies should take the lead in building the cloud and developing the AI for KCCS.
Samsung SDS has repeatedly stated its intention to win the KCCS contract. After first publicly mentioning KCCS at a defense seminar for clients in February 2025, it has continued to lay out related business strategies. More recently, it has been visiting professors specializing in defense technology to seek advice as it prepares its KCCS bid.
Samsung's aggressive preparations have prompted speculation in the IT industry that the group is also looking ahead to expanding into projects for foreign militaries. The reasoning is that winning a domestic project worth about 300 billion won ($216 million) would build a reference that could serve as a springboard for pursuing defense work abroad. An executive at one IT company said the group could look for opportunities to export hardware such as Samsung Electronics' tactical phones and switching equipment alongside Samsung SDS' cloud and AI capabilities. "With Korean defense exports performing well recently, this looks like a strategy to ride that momentum and target defense AI transformation projects in other countries," the executive said.
Samsung will nonetheless have to beat a lineup of formidable rivals. Once the KCCS project is put out to tender next year, defense IT companies including LIG Defense & Aerospace (079550), Hanwha Systems (272210), Naver Cloud and ITCEN Entec are expected to form shifting alliances and square off in a multi-way contest alongside Samsung SDS. In an earlier competition to develop the AI platform to be installed on KCCS, Samsung SDS bid as part of a LIG Defense & Aerospace consortium but lost out. A Hanwha Systems consortium that included Naver Cloud was named preferred bidder instead. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration will invite private companies to a preliminary briefing on the KCCS research and development project on the 29th of this month, where it will outline its specific plans.
Kang Seok-jung, a professor at Korea University's Graduate School of Technology Management, said the company that wins the first stage of the three-stage KCCS project holds some advantages in the second and third stages. "Because this now has to be built together with companies that have expertise in AI and cloud, companies hoping to take part in the KCCS project need to review their approach strategically," the professor said.
