Korea Set for ADEX 2009

Defense News

10/19/09

Korea Set for ADEX 2009

By WENDELL MINNICK 



TAIPEI — The 7th Seoul International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition (ADEX 2009), to run from Oct. 20-25, has become the largest defense and aerospace show in East Asia and is expecting 273 exhibiting companies from 27 countries and 300,000 visitors this year, Defense News will cover the event from Seoul for the first time.



Eighty overseas delegations from 46 countries will attend the show which coincides with the 60th anniversary of the South Korean Air Force. Foreign delegations will visit the Army Total Maintenance Depot, watch demonstrations of ground equipment and participate in conferences.



ADEX is sponsored and organized by the Ministry of National Defense, Ministry of Knowledge Economy, Korea Aerospace Industries Association and Korea Defense Industry Association.



“By bringing together [participants] from Korea and overseas, this year’s event promises to play an active role in military diplomacy and actual business in aerospace and defense markets,” an ADEX press release said.



“Meanwhile, more than twice as many key delegations from various countries will take part in the show, compared with the last exhibition. It is expected that the exhibition will be the best marketplace for aerospace and defense industries, as well as promoting national prestige though military cooperation,” the statement said.



Seventy-five aircraft and 63 mod­els will be on exhibit, including the Korean-built KT-1 basic trainer, the KAI T-50 Golden Eagle advance trainer and the KAI Surion utility helicopter. Foreign aircraft will include the F-15K Slam Eagle, C-17 Globemaster, C-130J Hercules, AH­64 Apache attack helicopter, A-380 Airbus and a mock-up of the Global Hawk UAV.



Land-warfare systems will include 34 models, with the K2 Black Panther main battle tank, K9 self-propelled howitzer, K10 ammunition re­supply vehicle, K21 infantry fighting vehicle, K-SAM Chunma (Pegasus) surface-to-air missile system and the K30 Biho (Flying Tigers) 30mm AA twin-gun system on display.



The Korean Air Force Black Eagles acrobatics team will debut its new T-50 aircraft and perform with the U.S. Air Force’s Thunderbirds for the first time. Formed in 1994, the Black Eagles have performed in more than 500 air shows and special demonstrations for the public. The Black Eagles replaced the aging Cessna A-37B Dragonfly with the T-50 after the 2007 Seoul air show.



There will be several seminars during the show, including the Aerospace Symposium, International Defense Acquisition Conference, Aerospace Weapon System Seminar, Ground Weapons Systems Symposium and Unmanned Systems East­Asia 2009. ■