The South Korean and U.S. air forces are joining hands to strengthen their ability to conduct combined manned-unmanned operations.
Air Force Chief of Staff Son Seok-rak and U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Kenneth Wilsbach will sign a letter of intent (LOI) on cooperation in autonomous collaborative platforms (ACP) at a bilateral meeting of the two air force chiefs held on the 22nd on the sidelines of the 2026 Sacheon Air Show.
An autonomous collaborative platform is a system in which unmanned aircraft carry out missions in collaboration with manned aircraft and other assets, drawing on their own autonomous functions.
A leading example is the collaborative combat aircraft (CCA), a next-generation air combat system in which existing manned fighter jets and artificial intelligence-based drones fly in formation and divide up reconnaissance, electronic warfare and high-risk strike missions.
Under the letter of intent, the two air forces plan to step up cooperation to advance operational concepts and interoperability for future manned-unmanned combat systems.
The Air Force said it will form a working-level consultative body and then flesh out priority cooperation tasks and timelines to draw up practical cooperation measures.
The military said it will reflect the knowledge gained through the cooperation in developing operational concepts for manned-unmanned combat systems suited to the operational environment on the Korean Peninsula, and will link the effort to domestic research and development to build a foundation for fielding such capabilities on its own.