Korea’s Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) said it has published the “ETRI Defense Technology White Paper 2026”, outlining ICT-based technologies intended to support the military’s transition toward a more technology-driven force structure. ETRI described the publication as its third edition since an initial release in 2022, positioned to align with the government’s Defense Innovation 4.0 policy direction.
ETRI said the 2026 edition focuses on technical support for the Ministry of National Defense’s policy goal of building a “smart, strong military based on AI and advanced science and technology.” The institute said it aims to address operational constraints associated with demographic change by applying civilian-origin technologies such as AI, robotics, and automated and autonomous control.
In the white paper, ETRI said it presents a strategy to apply its five “core technology pillars” across defense domains: hyper-intelligence, hyper-connectivity, hyper-reality, hyper-performance, and hyper-convergence. From these, the institute said it selected 103 core technologies that it considers usable in defense applications in the near term.
ETRI said the document is designed to introduce defense stakeholders—including the defense ministry, the armed services, research organizations, and defense industry firms—to technologies validated in civilian sectors. The areas highlighted include AI, communications, digital twin and metaverse-related technologies, and quantum and security technologies, which ETRI said could be adapted for defense use.
The institute also argued that integrating modular, portable chips and devices with intelligent software could add capabilities to existing hardware-centered weapon systems. ETRI said such a shift could increase the value of defense products and improve industrial competitiveness, while noting that the claims represent expected outcomes of broader adoption.
Among the technologies listed are communications and networking approaches that adapt commercial standards such as Wi-Fi and 5G by adding security and survivability features, according to ETRI. The institute cited examples including “Wi-Fi-based intelligent stealth network technology” and “trusted interworking technology for defense mobile environments.”
ETRI said it pursued field validation activities to assess defense applicability, including “living lab” demonstrations involving defense users and experiments linked to operational scenarios. The institute said these efforts are intended to move beyond a catalog of items and provide more actionable research goals and adoption directions for civil-military collaboration.
ETRI President Seung-chan Bang said 2026 would be an important turning point for the military’s move toward advanced science and technology, adding that the underlying foundations of civilian and defense technologies are often shared even when applications differ. He said ETRI expects the 103 technologies to help address operational challenges and support the development of an AI-enabled defense posture.
ETRI said it plans to distribute the white paper to relevant organizations, including the Ministry of National Defense, the armed services, and defense companies, and to make it publicly available on ETRI’s website to support broader access to the technologies described.
