[Special Stock] Korean Peninsula Vulnerable to Drone Attacks... Waybis Reevaluated as Irreplaceable Technology

Weibis is showing strong performance. The news that Russia and Ukraine exchanged the largest-scale drone attacks since the outbreak of the war appears to be influencing the stock price. As the importance of anti-drone technology grows, expectations for Weibis's irreplaceable core technology are also increasing.

As of 9:43 AM on the 12th, Weibis is trading at 11,670 KRW, up 8.16% from the previous day.

The Ukrainian Air Force claimed that 145 drones flew across the country, most of which were shot down. The Russian Ministry of Defense announced on the 10th that it had shot down 84 Ukrainian drones in six regions, 34 of which targeted the capital Moscow, marking the largest attack attempt since the war began.

According to the global market research firm Presidium Research, terrorism and illegal activities using drones are increasing every year. Accordingly, the drone countermeasure market, which was about 1.94 trillion KRW (1.4 billion USD) in 2021, is expected to grow to 17.47 trillion KRW (12.6 billion USD) by 2030.

Domestic conglomerates are also actively entering the anti-drone market. According to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, Hanwha Systems won the bid for the major regional large-scale drone integrated system project ordered last year with 29 billion KRW. They entered the bid by lowering the price by more than 40% compared to the budget, even sacrificing profitability. The large-scale drone system market is expected to be promising worldwide. As drones have established themselves as a key means of future warfare, the need for countermeasure systems has also increased. The Ukraine-Russia war itself has evolved into a 'drone war.'

According to Hanwha Systems, South Korea has an unstable security situation due to its narrow territory, dense population, and conflict with North Korea. In particular, the densely populated Seoul metropolitan area is vulnerable to enemy drone attacks.

Weibis's sales division, led by the CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) who oversees global advanced weapon systems, anti-drone, mobile communication infrastructure, satellite, and aerospace markets, is composed of personnel specialized in technical sales for each market and is fully responsible for sales activities. They produce and supply gallium nitride (GaN) radio frequency (RF) semiconductor chip-package-transistor-modules, which are irreplaceable core components of power amplifier functions in major systems within advanced industries such as advanced weapon systems, anti-drone, mobile communication infrastructure, satellite, and aerospace.

Demand for GaN RF semiconductors is increasing in various fields such as advanced weapon systems and satellite/aerospace. The related market size is expected to grow from 4.1 trillion KRW last year to 7.5 trillion KRW by 2028, with an average annual growth rate of 13%. Despite the increasing demand, supply is insufficient. Major countries worldwide have designated GaN RF semiconductors as strategic core materials and are controlling exports.

Recently, Weibis was selected as the contractor for the 'Next-generation Air Defense Weapon System Radar X-band FEM (Front-End Module) R&D Project' worth a total of 6.4 billion KRW. Only companies selected as one of the 100 defense innovation companies can participate in this support project, and Weibis was selected as one of the 100 defense innovation companies in 2022.

The goal is to develop core FEM components of GaN-based X-band high-power transceiver modules. Utilizing domestic mass production fabs, the project aims to develop GaN MMIC (Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuit), a core chip of next-generation air defense weapon systems, while securing a stable domestic supply chain.

In September last year, BNK Investment & Securities and Hyundai Technology Investment's 'BNK-Hyundai Defense Technology Innovation Fund' and Hanwha Asset Management's 'Gungong-Hanwha Defense Venture Fund' participated in Weibis's 14.6 billion KRW Series E investment. The 'Gungong-Hanwha Defense Venture Fund' was established with 40 billion KRW each from the Military Mutual Aid Association and Hanwha Systems, totaling 80 billion KRW. The fund manager (GP) is Hanwha Asset Management.