SEONGNAM, South Korea -- Two South Korean airforce jets painted the national flag in the sky over Seoul Air Base on Friday, marking the close of the nation's biggest ever arms show.
The five-day Seoul International Aerospace & Defense Exhibition, or ADEX, was buzzing with military officers, sales representatives, and ordinary citizens snapping thousands of pieces of weaponry and military equipment on display from 440 companies representing 28 nations.
Inside halls showed drones, robots, aerospace equipment and laser arms, while jet fighters, helicopters, tanks and missile interceptors were displayed on an airstrip.
South Korea is ramping up defense spending as concerns grow about a growing arms race in Asia to counter an increasingly aggressive China.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in gives a thumbs-up as he boards a South Korean-made FA-50 jet fighter at the Seoul International Aerospace & Defense Exhibition at the Seoul Military Airport in Seongnam, South Korea, on Wednesday. © AP The Financial Times reported this week that the Chinese military conducted two hypersonic weapons tests over the summer, while Japan's ruling party has called for a doubling of its defense budget to 2% of gross domestic product. North Korea is expanding and diversifying its range of missiles -- and testing them, Taiwan is buying more arms from the U.S., and Australia recently signed a deal with the U.S. and the U.K. to receive nuclear-powered submarine technology.
"The Republic of Korea aims to have smart forces based on state-of-the-art science technology," President Moon Jae-in and in a speech at the fair on Wednesday after boarding an FA-50 light combat aircraft manufactured by Korea Aerospace Industries. "We will make the defense industry as a key growth engine of the country beyond national defense."
A LIG Nex1 cargo drone of is displayed at the Seoul International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition (ADEX) 2021 at the Seoul Air Base on Friday. The Korea Cargo Drone-200 can carry up to 200 kg of cargo fueled by hydrogen cells. (Photo by Kim Jaewon) Big names such as Lockheed Martin and Rafael were pushing their weaponry to South Korea and other countries at the show this week, with Boeing displaying a model of its F-15K Slam Eagle.
"Boeing looks forward to partnering with the ROK to deliver an affordable, highly capable F-15K upgrade solution that maintains the peace and ensures victory," the company wrote in a pamphlet.
The South Korean Air Force displays its MIM-104 Patriot surface-to-air missile system at the Seoul International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition (ADEX) 2021 at the Seoul Air Base on Friday. (Photo by Kim Jaewon) Seoul is not hiding its ambitions to becoming a military powerhouse by developing its own jet fighters and submarine-launched ballistic missiles. The country is the world's sixth-biggest arms exporter with 550 companies employing 45,000 people.
South Korea's military recently conducted its first successful underwater test of a domestically developed submarine-launched ballistic missile , and growing number of politicians in the country are calling for the development of a nuclear-powered submarine.
A military officer looks at Hyundai Rotem’s K2 main battle tank at the Seoul International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition (ADEX) 2021 at the Seoul Air Base on Friday. Hyundai says the tank incorporates a digital battle management system which controls operations and fires. (Photo by Kim Jaewon) The government plans to raise its defense budget by 4.5% to 55.2 trillion won ($46.9 billion) next year. By 2025 the country's defense spending will be 50% larger than Japan's outlays, according to one estimate.
The spending plans are clearly aimed at countering the security threat stemming from North Korea. Pyongyang's spate of missile tests in recent weeks shows that the isolated country is gaining an escalating capability to mount offensives that can overwhelm defenses.