AI OS ‘Runway’ powers the first AI development and operations environment piloted on South Korea’s KJCCS battlefield network
Secure, air-gapped environment supports both military-developed and commercial AI models
AI capabilities validated in operational use during the 2026 Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise
SEOUL, South Korea, September 28, 2026 — MakinaRocks, South Korea’s leading Physical AI company, announced that it has deployed its AI operating system, Runway, on the Korea Joint Command and Control System (KJCCS) in collaboration with the Republic of Korea Joint Chiefs of Staff, marking the first pilot deployment of an AI development and operations environment on the ROK military’s battlefield network. The environment was validated under actual military operating conditions during the 2026 Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) exercise.
KJCCS is a core command-and-control system supporting joint operations across the Republic of Korea Armed Forces. The battlefield network on which KJCCS operates is an air-gapped environment subject to more stringent security controls than the broader defense network used for administrative, logistics and personnel functions. As a result, deploying emerging technologies such as generative AI requires significantly higher levels of technical assurance, security and operational independence.
As part of the project to demonstrate generative AI-powered information retrieval and operational capabilities for KJCCS, MakinaRocks provided the infrastructure required to develop, deploy and operate AI models and services directly within the KJCCS environment. Built on Runway 2.0, the environment enables end-to-end AI development and operations without relying on external network connectivity.
Using this infrastructure, the military operated GeDAI J, an internally developed AI service, while MakinaRocks developed and deployed an AI-powered capability for retrieving information from materials stored within KJCCS. Users can query large volumes of information in natural language and receive immediate, source-grounded responses, reducing the need to manually search through extensive military documentation.
The AI infrastructure and services were validated during the 2026 UFS, the annual combined defense exercise conducted by the Republic of Korea and the United States. During the exercise, military personnel used GeDAI J and other AI capabilities in operational tasks, validating the practical use of generative AI within a highly secure, isolated battlefield network.
The Runway-based environment can also be expanded into a distributed AI architecture connecting large-scale data centers, mobile servers and edge devices in operational environments, potentially enabling more efficient deployment and management of AI across command-and-control systems. The project was designed to lay the groundwork for the military to flexibly develop and operate AI models using its own data, and the pilot demonstrated the potential to further strengthen independent defense AI capabilities.
Beyond the KJCCS deployment, MakinaRocks is expanding its collaboration with the Republic of Korea Armed Forces to develop generative AI infrastructure and services tailored to military environments. The company has also deployed an AI assistant with the ROK Navy’s First Fleet to support the operation and management of shipboard equipment.
“Battlefield networks are among the most demanding environments for AI deployment, requiring both stringent security and fully independent operations,” said Andre S. Yoon, CEO of MakinaRocks. “This deployment established an environment where internally developed military AI can operate directly within KJCCS, and its validation during the 2026 UFS exercise demonstrated the potential for AI to be used in an operational military setting.”
“The competitiveness of defense AI will not be determined by any single model, but by the ability to continuously integrate, deploy and securely operate new models and services,” Yoon added. “With Runway, we will continue to expand the infrastructure needed to rapidly and reliably deploy diverse AI technologies across secure, air-gapped defense environments.”
Runway, MakinaRocks’ AI operating system, provides an integrated environment spanning the development, experimentation, deployment and operation of AI applications. Designed to operate independently of external internet connectivity, Runway enables organizations to manage AI development tools, models and data within secure environments, making it particularly suited to defense and industrial applications where security, operational independence and infrastructure flexibility are critical.
