South Korea to hold international defence exhibition in October 2023

Seoul [South Korea]: South Korea will hold an international defence exhibition in October to showcase advanced military hardware and technologies, amid Seoul’s push to become a significant player in the global arms market, Yonhap news agency reported.

The six-day Seoul International Aerospace & Defense Exhibition (ADEX) 2023 will kick off on Oct. 17 at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, just south of Seoul, involving 550 companies from 35 countries, the organizers said. It would mark the largest-ever edition of the exhibition, which first launched in 1996.

During this year’s event, the organizers seek to hold various aircraft demonstrations and exhibit advanced military assets and equipment, including F-35 radar-evading fighter jets, FA-50 light attack aircraft, K2 battle tanks and K9A1 self-propelled howitzers, Yonhap news agency reported.

Yonhap News Agency delivers news to its customers as well as newspapers, broadcasters, government agencies, businesses and Internet portals on a real-time basis. They are also in talks with the US military to showcase its aircraft and other assets to mark the 70th anniversary of the South Korea-US alliance this year, an official told reporters.

The first four days will host various seminars and forums for defence industry officials before the exhibition is opened to the general public in the last two days.

The exhibition’s previous edition 2021 featured hydrogen-fuel drones, virtual reality-based training systems, laser weapons systems, multipurpose unmanned vehicles, and military aircraft, including FA-50 fighters, Yonhap news agency reported.

This year’s event will take place after South Korea unveiled a goal last year to become the world’s fourth-largest defence exporter by 2027.