The Birth of Starlink Defense
Upon arriving at the Misung Thales factory building and stepping out of the vehicle, Taesik was greeted by the company president himself. He was promptly guided to a conference room. "It is an honor to meet you. I am Park In-tak, in charge of Misung Thales. As Vice Chairman Jeon gave me strict instructions to ensure a thorough handover, I have prepared a company briefing for you."
President Park presented the prepared materials. President Ryu and Department Head Park, who had accompanied Taesik, were visibly impressed by the scale of Misung Thales's workforce and facilities, which far exceeded those of Starlink Communication, and they focused intently on the briefing. When the presentation concluded, President Park asked if Taesik had any questions. Taesik posed a personal one.
"President Park, have you been offered your next position within the Misung Group?"
"No, not yet. The group has promised to guarantee me a position as an advisor for a few years."
"Would you be interested in working for Starlink instead?"
President Park In-tak was taken aback and hesitated to give an immediate answer. After a moment, he replied, "What would happen to the general staff?"
"Starlink currently lacks a sufficiently deep talent pool. Naturally, I intend to retain all current employees."
"Thank you for your consideration. If you are willing to give me the opportunity, I would be grateful to work with you."
"Then, let me outline the direction for our future operations."
"I am listening."
"Misung Thales will be renamed Starlink Defense. In addition to our existing business, we will begin the development of unmanned aerial vehicles."
"Representative, as you heard during the briefing, our factory is located in Gumi and lacks the necessary infrastructure, such as a runway. What kind of UAVs are you referring to? Are you considering the RQ101 Songgolmae currently being produced by Korea Aerospace?"
"No. We intend to develop suicide-type anti-tank and anti-personnel drones."
"That is a new concept for a weapon."
"Yes. I want the anti-personnel model to weigh under 5kg with a 15-minute flight time, and the anti-tank model to weigh under 25kg with a 40-minute flight time."
"Based on what you've said, the anti-personnel model would be operated by a single soldier, and the anti-tank model would be operated in conjunction with a vehicle. Given the flight time, we would need to equip them with electro-optical infrared cameras so the operator can identify targets."
"You catch on quickly for a defense company president. You've grasped the overall concept perfectly. Also, we must minimize costs to ensure economic viability."
"Once development is complete, it will surely attract a lot of attention from the Ministry of National Defense."
"Ah! Our goal is not just South Korea, but the entire world. You will need to expand our marketing reach. And you are aware that Starlink launched satellites earlier this year, right?"
"Yes, I saw the news reports."
"Once two additional satellites are launched at the end of this year, we will be able to establish our own satellite navigation system for the Korean Peninsula. You should also develop low-cost suicide drones that utilize GPS."
"Um... I apologize. The anti-personnel drone you mentioned earlier already seems inexpensive, but just how cheap are you talking about?"
"I want a drone that costs around 2 million won."
"What...? Is that even possible? The cost of the propeller and battery alone is estimated to be nearly 1 million won. Including the airframe and explosives, it seems impossible."
Taesik watched the bewildered expression on President Park's face. "You can just make the airframe out of cardboard."
"...Can cardboard withstand the load generated during flight?"
"It won't be a drone performing high-G maneuvers, so it's possible. And you can even use rubber bands to connect the wings to the fuselage."
"Pardon? Connect them with rubber bands? I apologize, but..."
President Park seemed to think Taesik was talking science fiction, his expression turning incredulous at the mention of rubber bands.
"If Starlink deems it possible, it is possible. President Park, would you like to make a bet with me? On whether developing a cardboard drone is actually feasible...?"
"...No. If you say it is possible, it is my job to make it possible."
Faced with Taesik's challenge, President Park answered with a resolve to make it succeed no matter what.
"Trust me. If we build it to only house the propulsion system and explosives, it won't be able to attack moving targets, but it can attack fixed targets as much as we want. The biggest difference from the previously mentioned drone is the lack of an electro-optical infrared camera."
"Understood. I will make sure we succeed."
"The first drone will be named Switchblade, and the second will be the Cardboard Drone. Please begin development immediately. Oh, and I intend to install new computer systems and security programs from Starlink Communication. For your reference, our security program even includes facial recognition, so please pay close attention to employee security."
"Ah! Has a facial recognition program already been developed?"
"Yes. I plan to link it with the UAVs equipped with electro-optical cameras in the future, so you must include data transmission capabilities in the Switchblade."
Taesik looked at the determined face of the president, pulled out a USB drive, and handed it over carefully.
"Representative, what is this?"
"These are the blueprints for the airborne AESA Radar we will be producing. I understand that Korea Aerospace is currently developing the T-50 Advanced Trainer with a mechanical radar; I intend to supply our radar for that. We should also apply it to naval vessel projects."
"Wait... AESA radar is the technology used in the American F-22 program... How did you...?"
"It is radar technology shared with Raytheon in the U.S., so we must continuously develop derivative technologies."
"With this technology alone, we could diversify our business areas in many ways. But it won't be easy to put this radar into the T-50 project."
"Is it because of Lockheed in the U.S.?"
"Yes. Korea Aerospace is developing the T-50 through a technology transfer program with Lockheed, and I understand that any modifications require their permission."
"I will handle that. Since the government holds a majority stake in Korea Aerospace, I plan to acquire it in the future, so let's just prepare for now. It will take time to miniaturize the AESA radar for the T-50."
"With the blueprints you've provided, I think we can shorten the development period more than expected."
"I'm not sure if I've given you too much homework today, President Park. Since the ownership of the company has changed, I expect some unrest among the staff. Please soothe them yourself and accelerate the development of the UAVs and the AESA radar."
"Hahaha. The staff will be thrilled. Until now, we only developed electrical and electronic components for aviation and ground weapon systems through technical cooperation with Thales. If we are to develop our own independent weapon systems, the researchers will be delighted. I will strive to produce results as quickly as possible."
After finishing his first visit to Misung Thales and returning to Seoul, Taesik received a phone call from Vice Chairman Jeon Hak-soo.
"I heard you visited Misung Thales today. How was it?"
"Perhaps because it was a subsidiary of the Misung Group, there were many capable people. The factory and facilities were not bad, either."
"That is a relief. The reason I called is because of Thales. As feared, there is backlash regarding Thales selling their stake. Would you be able to purchase the Thales stake? Their stance is that while they can share business with Misung, they cannot collaborate with Starlink."
"That is possible at any time. I, too, want to clean up the shareholding structure."
"Then I will contact Thales and tell them we will purchase the stake. I apologize for the trouble."
"Not at all. On the contrary, you have given me a very helpful call."
Having seized the opportunity to secure the remaining stake in Starlink Defense, Taesik checked his account balance and pondered the situation following the Thales stake acquisition. "I still have some financial leeway, but it's a stretch to proceed with new projects..."
He could not dispose of his Misung Electronics stock because he had promised to remain an ally of Chairman Lee Hyundo, so he considered selling his American stocks if necessary. While he was confirming the production of the two additional satellites, Taesik received a visit from the South Korean Ministry of National Defense and a U.S. Defense Attaché.
The South Korean defense official arrived with the U.S. Defense Attaché to visit Starlink. Taesik, feeling puzzled, greeted the guests alongside President Ryu. After a brief exchange of greetings and business cards, Taesik spoke.
"Colonel Jang, this is your first time visiting Starlink, isn't it? It is quite curious to have the South Korean Ministry of National Defense and the U.S. Embassy's Defense Attaché visit Starlink at the same time. What brings you here?"
"Although it hasn't hit the news yet, we are planning to deploy South Korean troops to Iraq as a follow-up to the end of the war. Special forces will be deployed along with reconstruction units to protect the troops, and we are visiting Starlink to purchase radios for them to use."
"When I requested a purchase from the Ministry of National Defense in the past, there was no response, so I had given up on selling them. Now, I am finally receiving a sales proposal. Colonel Oliver, what brings you here...?"
"I am here to finalize the main contract for the radios we sampled last time. I accompanied them because I heard the South Korean Ministry of National Defense was also proceeding with a radio contract with Starlink."
Taesik smiled at the two men who had expressed their intent to purchase Starlink Communication's radios.
"First, how much volume does the South Korean Ministry of National Defense need?"
"We plan to deploy one division to Iraq, and we need 500 radios for the special forces."
"What is the delivery deadline?"
"You must deliver them within one month. We are short on time because we need to conduct adaptation training with the equipment before deployment."
"500 units should be possible within a month. Colonel Oliver, what is the quantity you desire? It wouldn't be 1,000 units like last time, would it?"
"Hahaha. This time, we need 20,000 units. The U.S. has decided to issue Starlink radios even to search teams in regular units. The field evaluation of the Starlink radios we supplied last time was excellent, so we decided to increase the supply."
"And the delivery deadline...?"
"The sooner, the better."
"The quantity needed in Korea is small, so it's possible within a month, but the U.S. quantity is large, so it will take some time. Should I send the delivery to the U.S.?"
"Please send the supplies along with the South Korean troops being dispatched this time. We need them urgently in Iraq, so there is no time to go through the U.S."
"It seems the situation on the ground is quite tense even after the declaration of the end of the war in Iraq."
"I cannot go into detail, but you should consider the end of the war to be a political declaration. The resistance from Iraqi insurgents is greater than expected, so there is a constant need for supplies."
"Since you are proceeding with a bulk purchase, I will adjust the schedule so we can deliver within two months."
President Ryu smiled happily as the 30 billion won contract was signed, and Taesik made up his mind to accelerate the development of the UAVs currently being developed at Starlink Defense.