With a record 600 companies from 35 countries, the Seoul International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition (ADEX) has grown from a biennial display of advanced military systems to a key component of South Korea’s efforts to expand its defense industry and strengthen international partnerships.
Held in late October 2025 in Goyang, Gyeonggi province, the event highlighted the nation’s growing emphasis on artificial intelligence (AI), autonomous platforms, hypersonic propulsion and digital command integration. ADEX’s largest iteration provided a platform not only for defense exports, but also for strategic diplomacy and technology-sharing.
In recent years, South Korea has become the world’s 10th-largest arms exporter, including through the sale of defense systems such as the K2 tank and K9 howitzer, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
“Seoul is eager to demonstrate its industrial capacity for supplying a wide range of military domains to foreign customers; from land and naval systems to aerial, air defense sectors,” Dr. Kim Jae Yeop, a senior researcher at the Sungkyun Institute for Global Strategy, told FORUM. “This reflects the country’s ambition to become the world’s fourth-largest defense exporter.”
Leading South Korean defense firms, including Hanwha Aerospace, Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) and Hyundai Rotem, unveiled advances in AI-based and uncrewed systems at ADEX. Hanwha featured loitering munitions, autonomous ground vehicles and a low-altitude satellite capable of detecting objects as small as a pencil.
Hyundai Rotem debuted hypersonic propulsion technologies, including dual-ramjet engines for missiles and reusable methane engines for space launch vehicles. KAI introduced its advanced airborne propulsion drone capable of performing missions including deception, strikes and remote targeting.
Such developments reflect strategic trends. “Technologies for AI and autonomous systems will become a common and basic factor for future warfare,” while also offsetting declining military recruitment caused by South Korea’s aging population, Kim said.
The government is central to facilitating this shift, with Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back signing bilateral agreements during ADEX, including with Brazilian firm Embraer to explore joint participation in defense projects and global supply chains.
Ahn also met with defense leaders from nations including NATO members Estonia and Poland, reinforcing Seoul’s commitment to expanding interoperability, joint training and industrial cooperation.
South Korea is expanding collaborative defense initiatives with Allies and Partners. In April 2025, Hanwha Aerospace and United States-based firm General Atomics Aeronautical Systems agreed to develop and produce the Gray Eagle drone at facilities in both nations. Five months later, Seoul and Tokyo agreed to pursue “mutually beneficial cooperation” in developing drones and other emerging technologies.
Such efforts reflect a multifaceted national strategy, according to Dr. Bruce Bennett, a senior defense analyst with the Rand Corp., a U.S.-based think tank.
Seoul’s defense diplomacy is complemented by knowledge transfer and military exchanges. “You can sell a tank,” Bennett told FORUM. “But if you want to help somebody understand how to use that tank, what better than a South Korean sergeant who has used it in many different places? That kind of cooperation builds relationships that wouldn’t have existed otherwise.”
Kim echoed the value of building trust with partners through defense exports. “This will definitely boost Seoul’s status as a major security partner for those countries around the world,” he said.