Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) has inked a deal with a U.S. defense firm to develop high-tech unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for South Korean navy destroyers, the state-backed enterprise announced Thursday.

The agreement with Northrop Grumman comes weeks after multiple North Korean drones flew across South Korean airspace in late December, including downtown Seoul, and returned across the border before they could be intercepted. The ROK military is conducting an internal review of the incident and will present the results to parliament next week.