A Study on Establishing a New Acquisition Process for Software- Centric Weapon Systems

Software plays an increasingly critical role in advanced weapon systems by enabling key functions such as autonomy and artificial intelligence. Its rapid evolution allows for continuous updates and performance enhancement. However, existing hardware-centered acquisition processes are not suited to these characteristics, making it difficult to reflect user requirements promptly or improve performance continuously. This study proposes a new acquisition process specifically designed for software-centric weapon systems, based on insights from the U.S. defense software acquisition framework. The proposed approach includes: (1) the separate planning of software requirements, (2) the application of Agile methodology to support iterative development and flexible user feedback, and (3) the establishment of a system that enables continuous performance upgrades throughout the life cycle. Furthermore, the study presents detailed legal and procedural recommendations for each acquisition phase to ensure practical applicability. Agile development tailored to the nature of software and continuous performance updates over the lifecycle are expected to contribute to strengthening national defense capabilities.