"From Telecom to the Battlefield..." RFTECH Fully Launches Its 'Counter-Drone RF Business'

[Financial News]   RFTECH is expanding the radio frequency (RF) technology it accumulated through 5G telecommunications equipment into the defense sector. As it prepares to deliver prototypes of antennas for counter-drone response systems jointly developed with major South Korean defense companies, the company appears to be moving beyond research and development into commercialization.
According to the company on the 2nd, RFTECH is expanding its defense business to include antennas for drone detection and jamming mounted on vehicles and tactical platforms, as well as anti-tampering and hardware security technologies based on anti-cloning measures.
Counter-drone systems detect enemy drone frequencies and disrupt communications and satellite navigation signals, making frequency analysis and antenna technology essential. RFTECH is leveraging its RF design and smart antenna technologies developed through its existing telecommunications equipment business.
After signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with a major South Korean defense company in March last year to commercialize a portable drone protection system, RFTECH separated its related research and development organization into the subsidiary RFTC in September. RFTC is currently jointly developing antennas for counter-drone response systems with a defense company and plans to deliver prototypes this month.
Security technology is another area of expansion. RFTECH is developing anti-tampering and Secure Cover technologies to protect critical components of weapons systems and encryption chips, along with hardware security technology based on anti-cloning measures. The company plans to expand their applications to guided weapons, surveillance and reconnaissance, command, control and communications, avionics, and electronic warfare.
Industry observers expect opportunities for telecommunications equipment companies with RF and antenna capabilities to enter the defense sector to grow as the counter-drone and electronic warfare markets expand. For RFTECH, the key to expanding its defense business will be turning this prototype development into actual mass-production orders.
An RFTECH representative said, "We are expanding into the defense sector the RF design, antenna, and high-frequency component technologies we accumulated through our 5G telecommunications equipment business." The representative added, "We will strengthen our business foundation by focusing on areas where demand for future battlefield technologies, such as counter-drone systems and hardware security, is growing."
[email protected] Kim Kyung-a Reporter