South Korea opened its largest arms fair in its history on Friday, with companies expected to show off new unmanned and artificial intelligence-enhanced weapons, from howitzers to suicide drones, as Seoul looks to strengthen its military and pursue more global defense sales.
Organizers said 600 companies from 35 countries were scheduled to participate in the Seoul International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition (ADEX) 2025.
This year’s ADEX began with three days of public air shows at an air base, including flights of its newly developed KF-21 fighter jet.
The festivities will be followed next week by business exhibitions in a huge conference center.
Earlier this month, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said the country’s defense budget for next year would rise 8.2 percent to 66.3 trillion won ($47.1 billion), as it faces increased tensions in the region and a nuclear-armed North Korea.
In early October, foreign dignitaries were invited to Pyongyang to tour North Korea’s weapons exhibition, which included drones and nuclear-capable ballistic missiles, followed by a large military parade.
Weapons have become one of South Korea’s fastest-growing exports as it has signed multibillion-dollar deals selling everything from howitzers and ammunition to missiles and warships around the world.
At this year’s ADEX, Hanwha Aerospace said it would introduce next-generation versions of its popular K9 self-propelled howitzer that uses automation and artificial intelligence to reduce or eliminate the need for a crew.
Additionally, the company said it would showcase its L-PGW, a missile-launched loitering munition, also known as a suicide drone, that can circle an area before using AI to identify and destroy a target.
Unmanned weapons and AI will provide more capabilities and help South Korea maintain its defenses, despite a shrinking population that will reduce the number of available soldiers, Hanwha said in a statement.
Seok Jong-gun, Minister of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, told parliament on Friday that its focus included developing and modernizing manned and unmanned weapons systems, while expanding its defense export markets in cooperation with the United States, Canada, Saudi Arabia and others.
“We will seek to enter the global supply chain by expanding cooperation with the United States in defense shipbuilding,” he said.
South Korea’s shipbuilding cooperation with the United States has become a point of tension with China, which unveiled sanctions on U.S.-linked Hanwha Ocean subsidiaries earlier this week.
