The MiliTech 4.0 era is taking place thanks to the recent 4th industrial revolution.

MiliTech refers to the fusion of Military and Technology. After the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd revolutions of steel era, invention of gunpowder, and industrial revolution, we have now entered the MiliTech 4.0 era thanks to the 4th industrial revolution. According to the 2018 world defense market almanac, the weapon trade market of the MiliTech 4.0 era will increase 10-fold from the scope of 31.1 billion dollars in 2017 to that of 300 billion dollars by 2035. With that said, what kind of MiliTech technologies will be highlighted in the future?

Reinforcing Physical Capacity with Wearable Robots

Wearable suits with the 4th industrial revolution technologies implemented for greater combat power are being introduced.

Wearable suits that can reinforce physical capacity as a means to fortify soldier combat power are receiving much attention. Just like a scene from a movie, imaging wearing a special suit for a fight. Wearable robots that enhance physical capacity have been researched for a long time, and it looks like we can anticipate the results in near future.

HULC, developed by the U.S. defense business Lockheed Martin, allows you to move 20km with the maximum speed of 16km/hr with a 90kg gear with single charging. TALOS, which is being developed by the U.S. military, is researching robots with bulletproof and communication functions. ‘Ratnik-3’, which is being researched by Russia’s Central Scientific-Research Institute for Precision Machine Engineering (TsNIITOChMASh), is worth paying attention to. The combat wear made of titanium will protect you from flying bullets and can lift military gear up to 50kg without a problem. You can hit the mark accurately even when you are shooting an automatic rifle with just one hand. Korea is also researching military wearable robots. ‘Exoskeleton Robot’ technology has been in development from 2016 to 2020 with 20 billion KRW investment for both private/military purposes.

Flying suit is another item that can be used for military purposes (photography source. Gravity official homepage).

It’s expected that we will be able to see a suit that allows you to fly through the sky like Iron Man in near future. ‘Jet Suit’, developed by the inventor Richard Browning, can fly straight up to the sky with 5 jet engines attached. You can fly up to 3,500m with the sped of 50km/hr. Another inventor, Franky Zapata crossed the 35km strait between England and France in just 22 minutes with his self-developed flying equipment. He stopped to refuel once but nonetheless completed the flight with the stunning 160~170km/hr speed. The French government is considering whether to use his equipment for military purposes.

AI Being Implemented as Military’s Strategic Technology

AI technology is being actively implemented into MiliTech (Photography source. Boeing).

AI (artificial intelligence), considered the core technology of the 4th industrial revolution, is an important technology for MiliTech 4.0 as well. Countries with powerful military such as the U.S., China, the U.K, and Russia have already actively implemented AI. The U.S. uses AI technology to predict/detect ballistic missiles and is researching autonomous underwater exploration mission vehicles. Boeing disclosed an AI unmanned combat plane ‘Royal Wingman’ on the 5th, which is able to not just fly independently but also can carry out missions with manned planes controlled by persons. Recently, the U.S. Department of Defense announced that they were hiring game developers for weapon development for next generation unmanned vehicles, etc. They plan to test AI algorithm for combat with game developers’ know-hows.

China also implemented AI as a strategic technology in 2017 and has the goal to complete the world-class AI based military technology by 2030. China plans to attach AI onto a combat plane with stealth function that goes undetected under enemy radar and develop a technology that can infiltrate into enemy camp through optimum flight route. Russia and Israel dispatched robots that could attack people and things, and are also making use of autonomous driving based unmanned vehicles.

Korea is researching AI technology and is implementing it on military tactics to reinforce its military power (photography resource. Korean Army).

Korea has been actively researching AI since the past 2~3 years through the Agency for Defense Development, the Army AI Research Development Center, and Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) affiliated research institute, the Future Army Science Technology Research Center. AI technology is to be utilized in various areas such as weapon system, nonweapon system, and operation maintenance. It is to be implemented on ‘AI control decision support system’ which controls the operation in reference to information provided by AI during military operation, smart bullets with AI technology applied, combats that make use of drone robots, AI based automatic and platoon maneuver system, etc. Implementing AI on non-combat areas such as military operation and management, AI based personnel acquisition and human resources management system, and remote treatment system is also being reviewed. If such technologies are implemented, and AI based hyper-connected, hyper-intelligent combat system takes place, not only will military power be greatly improved, but also the related industries are expected to see a big growth.

Automatic Driving for Efficient Transportation and Surveillance Tasks

Hyundai Rotem’s ‘HR-Sherpa’ allows remote driving and automatic driving.

Automatic driving technology, considered the 4th industrial revolution’s core technology, has been long researched for military purposes before private corporates began their active research as it can protect soldiers in dangerous situations while carrying out strategies and conveniently transport supplies.

'HR-Sherpa', developed by Hyundai Rotem, is a small unmanned vehicle that assists foot soldiers for various tasks. It demonstrated guarding the ‘KOR？ASEAN Special summit’ held in late November, in Busan, with security guards. HR-Sherpa can carry out remote driving controlled from near and far as well as automatic driving on designated routes. It can faithfully collect information through surveillance in dangerous areas. In case of emergency, it can participate in a combat with the firearms attached on the vehicle. As it can also follow recognized soldiers with its subordinate driving function, it can be used to transport heavy soldier gear during military operation or for separate transportation purposes.

Platoon driving is also being highlighted as an automatic driving technology for transportation. Platoon driving refers to the automatic driving technology of following the leading vehicle with a driver from a certain distance. In military operations, transportation vehicles take charge of supplies; many countries including Korea, the U.S., and Russia research platoon driving to efficiently operate transportation vehicles.

The development of military technologies is closely related to our lives. From computers we frequently use to Internet and GPS, IT technologies were first developed for military purposes. Military technologies were disclosed to public, and they are being used in a wider scope of private areas. The evolution of MiliTech is interesting from this perspective. If the defense power is enhanced with new technologies, what kind of changes our lives would we encounter? We look forward to it.