FAIRFAX, Va., March 16 -- George Mason University issued the following news release:

New C51 center will spearhead South Korea's defense AI transformation and bolster the Republic of Korea-U.S. tech alliance.

It began in 1989 with a small but ambitious research center founded by Harry L. Van Trees at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. A West Point valedictorian and former principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for C3I, Van Trees built what would become one of the most consequential defense research institutions in the United States. More than three decades later, that legacy has crossed the Pacific.

What started as the C3I Center has since evolved into a C5I powerhouse, steering mission-critical research and developme...