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LIG D&A partners with Nearthlab to advance counter-drone interceptor systems and expand its presence in the global integrated air defense market
2026.06.02
Synergies expected from LIG D&A's system integration expertise in integrated air defense combined with Nearthlab's AI-powered autonomous flight technology
- MOU signed following their joint exhibition at ADEX 2025 to accelerate the development of hard-kill counter-drone solutions
LIG Defense & Aerospace (LIG D&A) has joined forces with Nearthlab, an AI drone company specializing in autonomous flight guidance technology, to counter rapidly escalating drone threats and strengthen its competitiveness in the global integrated air defense market.
LIG D&A announced that the two companies signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to Establish a Business Collaboration Framework for Interceptor Drones on June 2 at its Pangyo House II in Seongnam City. Key officials including Shin Ik-hyun, President & CEO of LIG D&A, and Choi Jae-hyuk, CEO of NearthLab, attended the signing ceremony. This agreement is designed to seamlessly combine LIG D&A's world-class systems integration expertise in integrated air defense with Nearthlab's innovative AI software and autonomous-flight-based interceptor drone technologies. At ADEX 2025, the two companies drew significant market attention by jointly showcasing a hard-kill counter-drone system. Building on that collaboration, they now plan to accelerate the development of even more advanced, combat-ready integrated counter-drone solutions.
Under the MOU, both partners agreed to strengthen cooperation in the Korean government's Rapid Demonstration Project for Counter-Drone Hard-Kill Close-In Defense System as well as to develop derivative interceptor drones and jointly pursue both domestic and export opportunities in the field of counter-drone interceptors. This partnership is particularly expected to serve as a model for mutually beneficial collaboration between large companies and SMEs, demonstrating how a major defense systems integrator and an innovative startup can work together to compete successfully in the global market.
“As LIG D&A continues its journey toward becoming a comprehensive aerospace and defense company under its new corporate name this year, our partnership with Nearthlab will serve as an innovative catalyst for our future growth,” said LIG D&A CEO Shin Ik-hyun. “Together, we will secure unrivaled competitiveness in the counter-drone interception segment of the global integrated air defense market.”
NearthLab CEO Choi Jae-hyuk said, “We are proud to partner with LIG D&A, one of the driving forces behind Korea's defense industry and expand into the global market together, but we feel a strong sense of responsibility, too. We will successfully unveil combat-ready integrated counter-drone solutions to the global market by integrating NearthLab's AI interceptor drone capabilities into LIG D&A's integrated air defense architecture.”