ADEX 2025 Officially Opens: Showcasing Next-Generation Combat Systems and Future Warfare Weapons

The Seoul International Aerospace & Defence Exhibition (ADEX 2025) has officially opened at KINTEX in Ilsan, Goyang, Gyeonggi Province.
The opening ceremony on the 20th was attended by Ahn Gyu-back, Minister of National Defense, Jin Young-seung, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the chiefs of staff of the Army, Navy, and Air Force, foreign envoys to Korea, and more than 470 other guests.
At the exhibition, new weapon systems from major domestic defense companies such as Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), Hanwha Aerospace, LIG Nex1, and Korean Air were unveiled.
Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) revealed models of its next-generation high-speed medium helicopter and the Next-generation Air Combat System (NACS) for the first time. The NACS is a next-generation manned-unmanned teaming combat system that enables simultaneous operation of the KAI KF-21 Boramae fighter, unmanned combat aerial vehicles, and multi-purpose drones, and includes systems for command and control of small armed helicopters and maritime unmanned combat aircraft. KAI also presented a futuristic battlefield concept using extended reality (XR) and artificial intelligence (AI) to support operations.
Hanwha Aerospace unveiled the Korean-style next-generation armored vehicle (K21 KNIFV), an upgraded version of the Redback Infantry Fighting Vehicle (Redback IFV) exported to Australia, tailored for the Korean Peninsula. The company also showcased a low-observable turbojet engine for drone swarms, scheduled for prototype production by the end of this year, and the L-PGW, a loitering precision-guided weapon launched from the K239 Chunmoo multiple rocket launcher for surveillance, reconnaissance, and strike missions.
LIG Nex1 introduced three new types of aerial munitions for the first time: the Cheonryong, Korea’s first domestically developed long-range air-to-ground missile, a short-range air-to-air missile, and a modular guided missile capable of striking naval and ground targets as well as electronic jamming. These weapons are planned to be mounted on the Korean fighter jet Boramae (KAI KF-21 Boramae).
Other exhibits included electronic warfare equipment, ultra-high-resolution Synthetic Aperture Radar satellites (SAR satellites), vertical takeoff and landing division-level medium drones, and armored vehicles equipped with drone identification, detection, and interception systems.
Korean Air unveiled a low-observable drone swarm that can cooperate with all manned aircraft in hazardous areas, as well as a supersonic multi-role small collaborative drone capable of teaming with both manned and unmanned fighter jets.
Dozens of new drones were also introduced for the first time. Poongsan Corporation, Korea Defense Industry, and FIRSTEC Co., Ltd. exhibited surveillance and reconnaissance drones with loitering and strike capabilities, high-explosive bomb-dropping drones, GPS-guided bombing drones, and small drones launched from vehicles and aircraft. Major defense companies also showcased their expanded drone product lines.
In addition, space development and Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) technologies were on display. Aiming to raise awareness of the space economy and promote the space-related industry, this year’s ADEX Joint Operations Headquarters established the world’s second-largest new technology pavilion, covering 2,260 square meters, following the space pavilion at the Paris Air Show 2025.


wangjylee@fnnews.com Lee Jong-yoon Reporter