Realizing 'Self-Reliant Defense' in Materials, Parts, and Equipment: "Domestic Production of GaN Semiconductors Applied to Korean Fighter Jets"

Ministry of Industry and Ministry of National Defense Hold First 'Defense Industry Development Council' Meeting of the Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The government has decided to accelerate the localization of defense sector components by utilizing gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductors. The goal is to increase added value by localizing key parts applied to radars installed on the Korean Fighter eXperimental (KF-X) and other defense systems.

On the 19th at 2 p.m., Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Sung Yoon-mo and Minister of National Defense Seo Wook co-chaired the first 'Defense Industry Development Council' of the year at the Government Seoul Office. The council was attended by the two ministers, Director Kang Eun-ho of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), senior officials from the Ministry of National Defense, Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Ministry of Science and ICT, Ministry of SMEs and Startups, and the head of KOTRA's Defense Material Trade Support Center.

Minister Sung explained, "This year, we plan to promote the localization of semiconductor components for the defense sector using GaN materials."

Minister Seo stated, "Our military will serve as a testing ground for advanced technologies, quickly applying excellent civilian technologies to the defense sector, and transferring impactful technologies back to the civilian sector to simultaneously strengthen industrial competitiveness and defense capabilities."

At the seventh meeting of the council, discussions were held on the progress of agenda items from the sixth meeting, plans to localize X-Band GaN semiconductor components, expansion of military pilot operation of export weapons systems, and linkage plans for basic and fundamental R&D to secure future defense technologies.

A notable project is the 'Development of X-band GaN Semiconductor Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuit (MMIC).' As a follow-up measure to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy's supply chain restructuring strategy, 'Materials, Parts, and Equipment 2.0 Strategy,' this project aims to localize key imported components to increase added value. It is a high value-added core technology that can be expanded to civilian industries in the future and applied to 5G communication equipment.

According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the global market for GaN semiconductor MMICs is expected to grow more than fivefold from approximately $145 million in 2019 to $860 million in 2025.

DAPA plans to revise regulations related to the 'Military Pilot Operation System for Export Weapons Systems,' which has been in effect since November 2019, and expand support for small and medium-sized enterprises. The Ministry of Science and ICT has established a 'Future Defense Basic and Fundamental Research and Development (R&D) Roadmap,' identifying eight key technology groups and 142 detailed basic and fundamental technologies.

The two ministers emphasized, "Let us focus our capabilities to discover various policies and inter-ministerial cooperation agendas that can effectively support the development and export of the defense industry through the council."