From Epic Fury to the Future: Korea advised to look beyond weapons exports

U.S. and Israeli forces used AI, data fusion, cloud computing and decision-support systems to rapidly identify and strike targets across Iran during Operation Epic Fury, signaling a shift in military advantage from hardware to software and decision speed. Korea is advised to look beyond weapons exports and focus on these emerging capabilities.

The opening hours of Operation Epic Fury may ultimately be remembered not for the number of targets struck, but for what they revealed about the changing nature of modern war. According to reports, U.S. and Israeli forces were able to identify, prioritize and engage a vast number of targets across Iran within an extraordinarily compressed timeline. The significance was not simply the use of advanced aircraft, precision-guided munitions or long-range strike capabilities. Modern militaries have possessed such platforms for decades. The more important development was the integration of artificial intelligence AI , data fusion, cloud computing and decision-support systems into the operational process. For more than a century, military power was measured primarily in ships, tanks, aircraft and missiles. Epic Fury suggests that military advantage in the 21st century may increasingly be measured by something less visible: software, data and the speed of decision-making. This should be of particular interest to Korea. While Korean defense exports continue to achieve remarkable success around t