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From Hanwha to LIG Nex1, firepower and future of fighting on display at ADEX

Published: 20 Oct. 2025, 19:39

CHO YONG-JUN
[email protected]

Hanwha's booth at the Seoul International Aerospace & Defense Exhibition held in Kintex in Goyang, Gyeonggi, on Monday. [CHO YONG-JUN]

GOYANG, Gyeonggi — Saudi Arabian officials at the LIG Nex1 booth, member of the Polish Armed Forces at the Hanwha Aerospaces zone, United Arab Emirates military officials at the Hanwha Systems' booth and Chinese Air Force members next to the KF-21 mockup at the Korea Aerospace Industries' (KAI) exhibition — this year's Seoul International Aerospace & Defense Exhibition (ADEX) showcased the future of the Korean defense industry to the world.

The 2025 ADEX wasn't like any other held before: Instead of hosting the exhibition at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, Gyeonggi, next to the site of a family-friendly air show, this year’s exhibition was held separately at Kintex in Goyang, Gyeonggi, making it not only more accessible to guests and interested parties but also home to larger booths.

Reflecting that, opening day on Monday was filled with generals and military staff from around the world — from Korean brass to members of the Polish armed forces and Chinese Liberation Army members — each wearing their distinct uniforms.

Out of the 600 firms from 35 countries featured at the exhibition, Hanwha had the largest booth, with three of its defense-focused firms — Hanwha Aerospace, Hanwha Systems and Hanwha Ocean — teaming up to showcase its capabilities.

At the entrance of the booth was a scaled model of a future fighter jet engine that Hanwha Aerospace expects to develop and mount on the KF-21 fighter jet in the future. The domestically developed jet is currently paired with an engine developed by General Electric of the United States, but Hanwha hopes to localize its propulsion by the Block-III version of the KF-21, poised to be developed in the late 2030s.

A mockup of the Chunmoo 3.0 missile is displayed at the Seoul International Aerospace & Defense Exhibition held in Kintex in Goyang, Gyeonggi, on Monday. [CHO YONG-JUN]

Next to it was a mockup of the Chunmoo 3.0 missile. The missile, currently in development, incorporates a suicide drone at the end of the missile head that separates as it flies toward the target.

The company also focused heavily on its manned-unmanned teaming systems, showcasing its Themis-K multipurpose ground vehicle for the first time. The vehicle combines the unmanned ground vehicle platform made by the Estonian defense firm Milrem Robotics with a Hanwha-made remote-controlled weapons station.

Hanwha System's Very Low Earth Orbit Ultra High Resolution Synthetic Aperture Radar displayed at the Seoul International Aerospace & Defense Exhibition held in Kintex in Goyang, Gyeonggi, on Monday. [CHO YONG-JUN]

Hanwha System showcased the synthetic aperture radar (SAR) — an ultra-high-resolution radar system currently in development that can identify objects as small as 15 centimeters (6 inches) from 400 kilometers (248 miles) above ground. Named the VLEO UHR SAR — which stands for “Very Low Earth Orbit Ultra High Resolution SAR” — the radar will have the best-in-class resolution, according to Hanwha Systems.

A scaled model of the KF-21 fighter jet at the Korea Aerospace Industries booth at the Seoul International Aerospace & Defense Exhibition held in Kintex in Goyang, Gyeonggi, on Monday. [CHO YONG-JUN]

KAI, the manufacturer of KF-21, focused on the future of battles that incorporate unmanned aircraft with AI and mixed reality. It had an interactive showcase of a proposed future battle system, where guests wore a mixed-reality headset to see a 3-D render of a battlefield, alongside an AI assistant that tells you to attack an enemy intercontinental ballistic missile base.

The company also inked a memorandum of understanding with Airbus on Monday to cooperate in the defense and aerospace sectors, which will have the two companies jointly develop a special mission aircraft and medium-lift helicopters.

LIG Nex1, which is expected to beat out KAI for the development of Korean electronic warfare (EW) aircraft, showcased a mockup of the proposed EW aircraft.

It also had a big display of the Cheongryong air-launched cruise missile, which will be equipped on the KF-21 fighter jets.

The K2 PL MBT, the upcoming variant of the K2 main battle tank for the Polish Armed Forces, is displayed at the Seoul International Aerospace & Defense Exhibition held in Kintex in Goyang, Gyeonggi, on Monday. [CHO YONG-JUN]

Hyundai Rotem, which shared a booth with Hyundai Wia and Kia, first showcased a life-size model of the K2 PL MBT — the upcoming Polish version of the K2 main battle tank, which will be built both in Korea and in Poland.

Kia, meanwhile, had different kinds of military vehicles, ranging from the Humvee-like small K-151 tactical vehicle and a military version of the Tasman pickup truck, which was first sold to the public earlier this year.

BY CHO YONG-JUN [[email protected]]