T1 and ROK Navy partner to enhance naval tactics and simulation

T1 Entertainment & Sports and the Republic of Korea Navy's Force Analysis, Test and Evaluation Group announced this Friday, February 13, the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The ceremony took place the previous day, Thursday, February 12, at T1’s headquarters in Gangnam, Seoul, in the presence of approximately ten officials from both organizations.

The agreement aims to enhance the Navy's capabilities in modeling and simulation, command and control, and analysis. Both entities plan to collaborate on integrating data technologies and strategic methodologies from the gaming sector into naval defense systems.

This new partnership is structured around four major strategic pillars: optimizing gaming functionality within the Navy's M&S models, researching how to apply esports teams' creative tactics to naval tactical development, conducting joint research on data-based tactical analysis, and co-hosting academic conferences and seminars.

Rear Admiral Kim Hyung-joon highlighted the importance of this technological knowledge transfer for the armed forces. He explained that "through the signing of this MOU with T1, we expect cooperation between our two institutions to be further strengthened in the fields of M&S and data analysis." He concluded by noting that this is "an opportunity to further solidify the foundation for the Navy's future force development."

During the signing, leaders from both organizations emphasized the necessity of this alliance to adapt to changing digital operational environments. Ahn Woong-gi, Chief Operating Officer of T1, affirmed the project's national ambition: "Through this agreement, we hope that the 'soft power' of esports can merge with the 'hard power' of the Navy to develop into a 'smart power' on a national level." Regarding the future, the COO added that "T1 will continue to expand its cooperation with the Navy and will actively provide support to strengthen digital and cyber capabilities."

In follow-up announcements and related reports, T1 clarified their intention not to limit this expertise solely to the naval domain: "T1 plans to continuously create forward-looking cooperation models by extending the strategic thinking, data analysis, and simulation capabilities of the esports and gaming industry to various public and defense sectors."