Expansion to America and Swarm Drones
After meeting with the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Miso seemed quite incensed. She immediately began scouting for a suitable location for their expansion into the United States. Taesik was taken aback when he reviewed the report she brought back.
"Are you suggesting we build our own airport?"
"Yes. We shouldn't just be doing flight tests for UAM prototypes; we need to build vertiports for the long term, and I'd like to solve both issues at once."
Taesik looked over the UAM expansion plan, which was far grander in scale than he had anticipated.
"Wouldn't the cost of building an airport be substantial?"
"Don't worry. Because our aircraft are capable of vertical takeoff and landing, we don't need long runways like commercial airliners, so it won't cost as much as you think."
"The total budget is 100 million dollars."
"Yes. I intend to build the runway, air traffic control facilities, and the factory all at once. The factory will be built for prototypes initially, and we plan to expand it once mass production begins. Most of that is real estate costs, and I plan to negotiate with the state government of the proposed site."
"I suppose I just need to provide the funds. You'll be handling the negotiations yourself, Miso?"
"Yes. Through these negotiations, I plan to threaten the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. I'm going to publish an investigative article stating that because there is no infrastructure in Korea, we are moving to the U.S., and that the future of the industry might be snatched away by America."
"Hahaha. It seems you were even more frustrated than I was."
"Of course. If the Ministry doesn't want to move of its own volition, we have to force their hand to get what we want."
"If you go on a business trip to the U.S., we'll have to be apart for a while."
"Hohoho. Are you already worried about being apart? Don't worry. I'll only be traveling to the U.S. when actual negotiations are taking place."
While Starlink was busy establishing its U.S. subsidiary and scouting factory sites for the UAM business, the impeachment fever in South Korea was growing even hotter. The female president was under intense media fire due to the government corruption scandal, and the National Assembly decided to uncover the truth through a parliamentary audit. During the audit, lawmakers mentioned the Misung Group, which had lobbied the daughter of the Youngsae Church leader, revealing that several large conglomerates were pulling strings with her.
Just as the situation in South Korea was becoming chaotic, CEO Cha Youngjin of Deepmind and CEO Park In-tak of Starlink Defense visited Taesik.
"What brings you two here together?"
CEO Park In-tak exchanged a glance with CEO Cha Youngjin and smiled. "We've successfully upgraded the Switchblade, so we're here to report it."
"The Switchblade upgrade?"
"Yes. Using the flight data collected while developing Starlink Aviation's Valkyrie and Loyal Wingman, CEO Cha Youngjin developed swarm flight technology."
Taesik was delighted to hear that they had developed swarm drone technology using UAV technology.
"How did you come up with that idea?"
"It started when I was researching air defense systems for the high-output laser technology you mentioned, sir."
"From an air defense system?"
"While investigating the basic data, I found that air defense systems generally consist of two methods. They use two types of interception means—artillery and missiles—to shoot down enemy aircraft or missiles. I wondered what would happen if several inexpensive UAVs attacked a ground base or a warship simultaneously."
"With current attack means, you might be able to shoot down a few, but as the number of UAVs increases, defense would become difficult."
"That is why we developed a method for the Switchblade to attack a virtual target using swarm flight."
"The Switchblade is still a basic technology, but it already includes software for target identification and tracking, right?"
"Yes. It's not at a fully autonomous level yet, but it's designed to attack targets under human supervision."
"Have you actually evaluated it?"
"We've only done flight tests so far."
"I see. What kind of swarm flight method is it?"
"We implemented four modes: centralized, hierarchical, consensus-based, and emergent, allowing the operator to select the mode according to the target."
"Even if swarm flight is possible, considering the Switchblade's range, ground attacks wouldn't be a big problem, but attacking a warship would be impossible."
"Yes. That's why we replaced the battery with one we are developing in collaboration with Misung SDI to increase the range. Based on the Switchblade Type 3, the range has increased from 40km to 60km, so if mounted on a high-speed boat, it seems attacks on warships will be possible."
"The batteries developed for UAM have various uses. So, how do you plan to conduct the test evaluation?"
"Since ground test evaluations don't mean much, we want to confirm the attack effect through swarm flight against a warship, but it's not easy to get the Navy's cooperation."
"Why? If the Navy possesses the Switchblade, they'll have a new attack weapon..."
"They are worried that the warship might be damaged during the test evaluation. To confirm the attack effect of the swarm drones, we need at least an Aegis destroyer, but the procurement price of the recently introduced Aegis ships is over 900 billion won, so the Navy's working-level staff are hesitant. That's why we visited to ask for your help, sir."
"You're asking me to get the cooperation of the Ministry of National Defense and the Defense Acquisition Program Administration."
"Yes. Since it's difficult for us to persuade the Navy with our own capabilities, we want to seek cooperation from the Navy with the help of other related agencies."
"Hold on. I'll call Lieutenant General Choi Young-gyu of the DAPA right away."
He asked the two for their understanding and immediately called Lieutenant General Choi Young-gyu. After a few rings, the General picked up.
"Hello? To what do I owe the pleasure of a call from CEO Kim?"
Taesik explained the fact that the swarm-type Switchblade had been developed and that he wanted to test the attack effect against a Navy destroyer.
"General Choi! If there is any damage to the destroyer during the test evaluation, we will compensate for it."
"Is the Switchblade used in the test evaluation a live warhead?"
"We can't use live warheads on an expensive Aegis ship. We will prepare with inert warheads."
"..."
General Choi, who had been silent for a moment during the call, suggested another idea.
"CEO, is there a need to attack the Aegis ship directly? If we deploy a barge and place the Aegis ship behind it, we should be able to sufficiently confirm the attack effect of the swarm drones."
"Ah! You mean you'll give the attack order to the swarm drones targeting the barge, and have the Aegis ship positioned behind it defend against them."
"Yes. Then we can even use live warheads. I will take responsibility and persuade the Navy."
"Thank you, General Choi. How long will you be working at the DAPA?"
"Hahaha. I think this year will be my last. It's the final position for the acquisition branch, so I think I'll have to leave the military soon."
"I'd like to have you at Starlink... If you have any interest, please contact me anytime."
"Hahaha. Thank you just for the offer. I would also like to work at Starlink, but as someone in charge of the acquisition branch, working at a defense company could cause unnecessary misunderstandings."
"If you come, I intend to have you join Starlink Communication, not the defense sector. You don't need to worry about that."
"I will think about it."
General Choi Young-gyu immediately sought cooperation from the Navy and informed them of the negotiation results, saying that the test evaluation of the swarm-type Switchblade would be conducted using a barge. The Navy set a condition that Starlink would take full responsibility if any damage occurred to the Aegis ship to prepare for any potential accidents, and Taesik sent an official document stating that he would accept all the requirements requested by the Navy. The Navy decided to support the Cheonji, a logistics support ship, saying that a high-speed boat was too narrow to carry the Switchblade launcher, and provided an additional helicopter to supervise and film the Switchblade's flight process. The Seoae Ryu Seong-ryong, which had been mobilized for a Russian submarine identification operation, was deployed as the Aegis ship responsible for air defense, and CEO Park In-tak clapped in delight upon being notified.
Since the logistics support ship provided instead of the narrow high-speed boat could carry the equipment and personnel needed for the test evaluation without restriction, CEO Park decided to add a relay function to the cameras installed on the Seoae Ryu Seong-ryong and the helicopter so that they could be viewed from the logistics support ship. The Navy also contacted them, saying they would prepare the RIM-116 (RAM air defense missile) and the Goalkeeper (CIWS) to conduct air defense training simultaneously with the Switchblade test evaluation.
On the morning of the test evaluation, Taesik boarded the Cheonji, a logistics support ship at the Navy base in Jinhae, and was greeted by Starlink Defense employees who had been preparing for the test evaluation on the deck of the Cheonji for several days. Because of safety issues for fishermen, the Navy set the test evaluation site in international waters, not in areas where fishing boats were active, and using the travel time, CEO Park gave a briefing for the DAPA and Navy officials on the Cheonji.
"I will now begin the briefing on the swarm-type Switchblade. For those who may not be familiar with the Switchblade, I will give a brief introduction."
"..."
"The Switchblade produced by Starlink Defense comes in three types: A, B, and C. Type A is a suicide drone made of cardboard, and Type B is for anti-personnel attacks. And the Switchblade we are evaluating today is Type C, a suicide UAV developed for anti-tank use."
Following CEO Park's briefing, a Navy official asked a question.
"If you use an anti-tank weapon for warship attacks, wouldn't the explosive power be insufficient?"
"It depends on the purpose of the explosion. The explosive power Starlink wants is at a level that destroys the warship's radar, armament, etc., through multiple UAVs, causing it to lose its function. You can understand it as a neutralization level, not a sinking level."
"If it's a neutralization level, at least two or more UAVs must succeed in attacking the warship."
"Yes. As you know, Aegis ships like the Seoae Ryu Seong-ryong are equipped with RAM missiles and artillery such as the Goalkeeper for close-in defense. One anti-tank Switchblade costs 14 million won; if we operate 40 of these UAVs at once to attack an Aegis ship, could the Aegis ship block them?"
"If a sufficient quantity of missiles and infinite Goalkeeper ammunition are supplied, wouldn't it succeed in defense?"
"It would be possible. As far as I know, the Seoae Ryu Seong-ryong is equipped with 21 RAM missiles, and the Goalkeeper's 30mm ammunition magazine is at the 1,200-round level, so I know it takes time to change magazines. Does anyone here know the price of a RAM missile?"
Another Navy official replied.
"One round costs about 500 million won."
"Starlink Defense's Switchblade Type C costs 14 million won per round, and 40 UAVs can attack a warship in a swarm at once. 40 units would be about 560 million won. If you could neutralize an Aegis ship for 500 million won, what would you think?"
"Is that possible?"
"Hahaha. We are conducting this test evaluation to show that it is possible. If it succeeds, it will be a great help to the Navy, right?"
"The Switchblade Type C has a range of 40km, so it doesn't seem easy to approach an enemy warship..."