Quantum Aero selected for the K-Defense startup accelerator program

Quantum Aero has entered Korea's flagship program for defense-technology startups, and will use it to build the Quantonomy SDK, an open autonomous-flight platform for unmanned systems.

Quantum Aero announced on July 15 that it has been selected for the 2026 K-Defense Startup Accelerator Program (Stage 1), run by the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) and the Korea Research Institute for Defense Technology Planning and Advancement (KRIT), and signed the partnership agreement on July 14.

The K-Defense Startup program identifies technology companies moving into the defense sector and supports them according to their stage of commercialization, offering defense-entry strategy consulting, prototype development, and investor showcases. Companies that pass the Stage 1 performance review advance to Stages 2 and 3, where funding increases. With this selection, Quantum Aero also now meets the eligibility criteria for defense-sector policy-fund investment.

Building the Quantonomy SDK

Through the program, Quantum Aero will develop the Quantonomy SDK, an autonomous-flight software development toolkit. It is an open platform that lets drone manufacturers, systems integrators, and the military apply autonomous-flight software across many types of unmanned aircraft in a common way, reducing the burden of rebuilding or heavily modifying software for every airframe.

Stage 1 focuses on a digital-twin test sequence spanning software verification, hardware integration, and validation in a virtual flight environment. Using digital models of three unmanned aircraft developed by domestic partners, the company will verify whether a single software stack can be applied across different airframes.

We now have the foundation to turn our autonomous-flight technology and SDK operating experience into a Korean-built platform.Min-geun Jo, Business Development Lead

Toward sovereign autonomy software

As GPS jamming and electronic warfare expand, autonomous-flight software is emerging as a core technology that determines the mission persistence and survivability of unmanned systems. Foreign autonomy solutions, however, are subject to U.S. regulations such as ITAR and EAR, which can limit source-code access and modification for Korean military operating environments, raising the need for an autonomous-flight software platform built on domestic intellectual property.

Quantum Aero holds 21 autonomous-flight patents and hands-on experience operating foreign autonomy SDKs domestically. It has carried out autonomy-SDK supply and technical cooperation with Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) and is pursuing related cooperation with LIG D&A. Through this program, the company plans to consolidate its existing technology and operational experience into an SDK product built on its own IP.

Jo added that after completing the Stage 1 digital-twin validation, the company will link the work to follow-on accelerator stages to expand a domestic mission-autonomy ecosystem.

Quantum Aero recently launched QA Strike 101, a defense first-person-view (FPV) drone. It was also selected for the AI autonomous-flight platform track of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups' public-private open-innovation program, and is running industry-academia collaborations in unmanned systems with partners including Konyang University and Chonnam National University.