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Korean Arms on the ‘Chain

Robin J. Wolf

April 15, 2019

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The occasionally murky multi-billion dollar world of defense acquisitions may be getting a little more honest.

South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration, or DAPA, announced last week (link in Korean) that it is launching a blockchain project to boost the credibility of the defense acquisition process.

The project would record the entire acquisition process on the blockchain, from the initial tender to the evaluation and final selection, making it impossible to forge or alter. DAPA hopes this will make the process more transparent.

The project should offer other benefits as well.

It would create an automated electronic system for receiving proposals, reducing the paperwork and other hassles for bidding firms. It would also ease getting permits to transport weapons, ammunition and explosives. Currently, defense firms need to apply to two different agencies to transport munitions. DAPA’s project would unify the process behind a single system operated by a single agency.

It would also record on the blockchain the process for applying and receiving certain types of defense-related financial support.

DAPA is working with the Agency for Defense Development, the Defense Agency for Technology and Quality and the Korea Defense Industry Association on the project.

At CoinDesk, Yogita Khatri notes that this initiative is only one of several public blockchain trials launched by the Korean government over the last year.

DAPA isn’t the only Korean defense agency exploring blockchain. Also this month, the Military Manpower Administration announced (link in Korean) it is building a blockchain-based platform that will make getting certificates of military service much less of a headache. Last October, the Defense Ministry revealed (link in Korean) it would adopt blockchain to improve the management and security of military secrets, a plan that disquieted at least some blockchain experts.

Outside of Korea, too, militaries around the world are experimenting with blockchain technology, and as ConsenSys points out, there are some good reasons why.