A Study on Development of Evaluation Criteria for Joint R&D Project Planning between RoK and U.S.

As the U.S.-China power competition intensifies and the war in Ukraine drags on, the United States is pursuing a national policy of strengthening defense industry cooperation with its allies. This cooperative environment presents a valuable opportunity to enhance technological capabilities and strengthen the competitiveness of the domestic defense industry through joint research and development (R&D) with the U.S. To effectively capitalize on this opportunity, it is necessary to plan joint R&D projects that can maximize the outcomes of this collaboration. This study identifies factors influencing the success of RoK-U.S. defense cooperation through a literature review and develops evaluation indicators for planning RoK-U.S. joint R&D projects, reflecting these factors. To achieve this, evaluation items were hierarchized using the axiomatic design methodology, and the suitability of the hierarchical structure of these evaluation items was verified through exploratory factor analysis. Finally, the AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) methodology was applied to derive the weights of each evaluation item, completing the development of evaluation indicators. While previous joint R&D projects were planned based on conceptual-level execution principles, this study systematically structured and quantified the evaluation items to ensure objectivity. Additionally, the evaluation indicators included concepts beyond traditional technological cooperation, such as test infrastructure, production bases, and defense supply chain cooperation. The evaluation indicators developed in this study can be effectively utilized to advance the Korea-U.S. defense cooperation system and strengthen the RoK-U.S. alliance.