Baek Young-hyun, Mayor of Pocheon, is taking a commemorative photo after holding the Dapago 2.0 communication meeting at the Pocheon Business Center on the 10th. Pocheon City, Gyeonggi Province (Mayor Baek Young-hyun) announced on the 11th that a DAPA-GO 2.0 communication meeting, promoted by the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) to advance the defense industry, was held on the 10th at the Pocheon City Business Center.
Focused on the advanced drone sector, the event was attended by DAPA, the Drone Operations Command, Pocheon City, the required military units, specialized drone companies, and related research institutions. They assessed the current state of the drone industry and discussed key issues such as building an industrial ecosystem, developing domestically produced components, and establishing standards and certification systems.
The meeting proceeded with presentations and discussions on topics including △Pocheon City's plan to build a drone hub base to revitalize the civil-military drone industry (Pocheon City) △Diagnosis of the current domestic drone industry and ways to strengthen the industrial ecosystem (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport) △Trends and development directions of defense drone technology (Agency for Defense Development) △Directions for enhancing military drone capabilities (Drone Operations Command).
Drone sector companies in attendance stated, “The high dependence on China for core components such as engines and batteries used in drones means that if China imposes export controls, the supply chain could be critically affected.” They requested the establishment of various corporate support programs, including tax benefits, policy financial support, and infrastructure expansion, to allow domestic companies with technological capabilities sufficient time to develop core technologies.
Seok Jong-geon, head of DAPA, said, “As seen in China’s export control case on the advanced industrial material ‘antimony,’ global supply chain controls using resources as weapons are expected to intensify.” He added, “To prepare for this, we must secure independent technological capabilities and achieve global self-reliance. We will not spare policy support to create a competitive ecosystem for the defense drone industry in the defense sector.”
Mayor Baek Young-hyun stated, “Pocheon City is promoting the creation of an advanced defense drone cluster where the entire process from research, development, testing, certification, to production of military drones can be conducted in a one-stop manner.” He added, “Through infrastructure construction and support projects that companies need, we will establish a drone industrial complex that serves as a base for domestic production of core drone components and take the lead in strengthening the competitiveness of the national drone industry.”
Meanwhile, Pocheon City plans to actively consult with the Ministry of National Defense to utilize regional characteristics such as the Asia’s largest Seungjin Science Training Ground and to support testing and evaluation of military drones and the establishment of test beds.
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