Pocheon partners with KAIST to establish 3D-printed drone production and defense training base

Pocheon City signed a memorandum of understanding on April 21, 2026, with the KAIST Defense Industry Specialized Development Research Institute and the Smart Additive Manufacturing Research Division of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers. The agreement focuses on developing 3D printer-based drone production technology and establishing a specialized manufacturing base. This initiative includes a full-cycle integrated education program covering drone design, manufacturing, and operation, scheduled to launch in the second half of 2026. The city plans to utilize the Gyeonggi Daejin Technopark as the primary site for these training facilities and production infrastructure.

This partnership positions Pocheon to capture a specific niche in the defense supply chain by integrating additive manufacturing (AM) directly into drone lifecycle management. By leveraging AM for complex component production, the initiative addresses the defense sector's requirement for rapid prototyping and decentralized manufacturing of UAV parts. While KAIST provides the high-level R&D and technical validation, Pocheon is securing the physical infrastructure and legislative support through its recently passed Ordinance on the Promotion and Support of the Defense Industry. This move transitions the city from a general administrative region to a specialized industrial cluster for defense-related AM applications.

For Pocheon, the immediate priority is the successful deployment of the production base at Gyeonggi Daejin Technopark later this year. The success of this roadmap depends on converting the theoretical R&D from KAIST into scalable manufacturing workflows for drone components. Local stakeholders should focus on the technical integration of AM hardware within the proposed training facilities to ensure the workforce can transition from basic piloting to advanced additive manufacturing operations.