Korean Air has made a strategic investment (SI) in domestic drone specialist Pablo Air to secure core unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technologies.

Korean Air announced on the 26th that it signed an equity investment agreement with drone specialist Pablo Air on the 23rd. The signing ceremony, held at Korean Air’s Seosomun office building in Jung-gu, Seoul, was attended by Im Jin-gyu, Head of Korean Air’s Aerospace Division, Pablo Air Chairman Kim Young-joon, and about 10 other key officials. Pablo Air is a company specializing in swarm artificial intelligence (AI) technology, a core element in next-generation drone operations. Swarm AI refers to technology that enables drones to form a swarm and carry out missions, similar to a flock of birds flying in formation. Among the five levels of “swarm coordination” technologies, Pablo Air became the first in Korea to reach level 4, thereby demonstrating its technological competitiveness. In particular, in September last year it acquired defense manufacturer Volk, securing a mass-production system for unmanned aircraft and laying the groundwork for winning defense weapons contracts from the Korean military. Pablo Air plans to spearhead its push into domestic and overseas UAV markets with loitering munitions and other systems. The company is also targeting a corporate value of KRW 5 trillion by 2030 and a listing on a U.S. securities market. Korean Air plans to accelerate the strengthening of its market dominance by working with Pablo Air to secure core technologies for its UAV business. The agreement is viewed as an investment to support mid- to long-term growth in aerospace, which Korean Air has identified as a key business for the future. The company intends to expand its presence in the defense sector by integrating Pablo Air’s swarm AI autonomous flight algorithms and integrated control platform, as well as its small- and medium-sized UAV development capabilities, into Korean Air’s independently developed medium- and large-sized UAVs.

In particular, the company plans to go beyond simple financing and actively support Pablo Air’s stable growth. The aim is to build a new growth model that enhances mutual competitiveness by combining the infrastructure of a large corporation with the innovative technology of a venture company. Korean Air and Pablo Air have agreed to join forces to secure future growth engines through joint research and development (R&D) on swarm flight, the exploration of new business models, and the exchange of UAV technologies and business know-how. There is also a possibility that Korean Air and Pablo Air could act as a single team in future bidding processes for UAV contracts from the Korean military. A Korean Air official stated, “This investment is a strategic choice to secure future competitiveness amid a rapidly changing industrial environment and is part of efforts to foster a healthy industrial ecosystem,” adding, “Going forward, we will continue to drive technological innovation and shared growth by strengthening win-win cooperation with capable small and venture companies.”

Pablo Air Chairman (founder) Kim Young-joon said, “This agreement represents the first strategic investment made in a technology startup and demonstrates that Pablo Air’s swarm AI technology has advanced beyond the research and development stage to a level where it can be applied in actual aviation and defense industry settings,” adding, “Through close cooperation with Korean Air, which has led the global aviation industry, we will create new industrial value in the next-generation UAV and aviation drone sectors.” Meanwhile, Korean Air is leading domestic UAV development through the operation of a dedicated UAV business division. The company independently develops and produces a wide range of UAVs that are actually used by the Korean military and local governments, including the medium-altitude unmanned aircraft (KUS-FS) for surveillance, reconnaissance, and various missions, a low-observable unmanned wingman, the division-level reconnaissance UAV (KUS-FT), the multipurpose unmanned helicopter (KUS-VH), and the vertical take-off and landing UAV (KUS-VT).

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