The security environment of the Korean Peninsula is changing rapidly and in diverse ways. Aside from traditional security threats, various other threats such as terrorism, cyber terror, infectious diseases, and natural disasters have emerged.

The development of science and technology (S&T) through the Fourth Industrial Revolution will bring drastic changes in future warfare. Cutting-edge science and technology (S&T) will be essential for a nation to successfully engage in future warfare characterized by cyber wars, space operations, manned and unmanned teamings, and effects-based precision strikes in network-centric mutli-domain battlefields.

The United States has recently established the Defense Innovation Unit to effectively introduce innovative civilian technologies to the defense sector and is actively carrying out advanced defense research through the bureaus established for DoD's Modernization Priorities. France is investing in open innovation to combine innovative defense technology with civilian technology via establishing the French Defense Innovation Agency, and is pursuing long-term innovation projects for quantum applications, C2 Clouds, and others.

The 「ADD R&D Vision」 was established based on the prediction of how warfare will be changed by frontier technology in the future as well as the security situation in Korea, with the intent to reflect the commitment of ADD to strengthening Korea’s defense capabilities and contributing to self-reliant defense. This resolve will be realized through R&D projects on classified as well as new-concept weapons systems. A wide range of R&D projects will be conducted to gain supremacy in aerospace and cyberspace, which will become critical battlefields in the future, in addition to the traditional battlefields of land and sea. Of particular note, concrete development strategies were formulated in order to consolidate research capabilities in advanced defense science and technology, such as unmanned and autonomous technology and AI technology, forming the core of the future warfare and new-concept weapon systems. To this end, there are plans to establish an open platform to achieve mutual growth by utilizing the research capabilities of the civilian sector and strengthening international cooperation.