Korea Aerospace Industries invests in small drone company Debrain, becoming second largest shareholder

Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), a major aerospace company in South Korea, announced on the 11th that it has signed an investment agreement with Dbrain, a company with core technology in the small drone field.
With this investment, KAI acquired 37.04% of Debrain's shares, becoming the company's second largest shareholder. Debrain is a small drone specialist founded in 2013. It produces military-class drones and agricultural drones.
Based on its track record in developing the unmanned HYERIcopter, the company has strengths in the field of lightweight avionics equipment. In 2023, the company was selected as one of the "100 Innovative Companies in the Defense Industry" in the drone field.
With this investment, KAI plans to secure key component technologies and platforms for small drones and lead the domestic drone market.
The strategic asset to be developed is a small unmanned aerial vehicle that is attracting attention as a "game changer" in modern warfare. In May last year, the South Korean military also announced a plan to more than double its current small unmanned aerial vehicle force by 2026.
KAI President Kang Gu-young said, "We will maximize the efficiency of our development projects by combining KAI's system integration capabilities with Dbrain's core small drone technology."
He also emphasized, "In addition to developing existing medium and large drones, we will also strengthen our small drone platform to ensure our global competitiveness."