The five-day "2022 Korea Defense Industry Exhibition" (DX KOREA 2022) has come to an end. This defense exhibition is called the largest defense exhibition in Asia by South Korea. However, after a brief query, it seems that the largest defense exhibition in Asia is not it, but the Singapore Air Show. But these are not important, because Koreans have always had a special liking for "big". They say that it is the biggest, that is the biggest!
According to the organizer, there were about 350 defense companies and enterprises participating in the defense exhibition. In addition, more than 40 senior military officers from countries such as Slovakia , Romania , Pakistan and South Korea participated in the defense exhibition, setting the highest in history.
The theme of this defense exhibition is "shaping the future with new types of defense"!
Taking advantage of the opportunity of South Korean arms selling in the international market this year, this time the defense exhibition has also seen an "explosive" growth compared with the previous session (2020). It is reported that the number of exhibitors and participating countries has increased by 284% compared with last year's exhibition, and exhibitors have also increased by nearly 60%;
In the five-day defense exhibition, South Korean arms companies and enterprises held about 120 dialogue meetings with foreign delegations respectively, and South Korean weapons may have another "big sale" after this defense exhibition.
As the host, South Korean military industry naturally brought all its "family assets" to the exhibition to show the whole world. Many Korean defense companies including Hanhua Defense, Hyundai Rotem, Korean Aerospace Industry, LIG Nex1, KINTEX, SNT Heavy Industry, Fengsan Ammunition and other Korean defense companies participated in the exhibition, and each showed their best-selling and latest conceptual weapons products.
Korean weapons will be sold in 2022!
This year, in the international arms market, South Korea's weapons are very popular. Not long ago, Polish posted a total of US$28.4 billion in super arms orders to South Korea, including nearly 1,000 K2 Black Panther main battle tanks, more than 700 K9 "King Kong" self-propelled howitzers, 48 FA-50 light attack aircraft and related weapons and ammunition;
In the first half of this year, South Korea's defense industry also received arms orders from the UAE, Egyptian , Saudi and other countries, with a total exported weapon value of about 7 trillion won; in addition, Hanwha's "Red Back Spider" armored combat vehicles are bidding for Australia's "new land combat vehicles" project with Rheinmetall's KF-41 inning combat vehicles, and it is estimated that South Korea's The chance of winning is very high, and this is also a big contract worth up to 5 trillion won...
Not only that, with the intensification of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, the demand for the whole world to enhance its national defense strength has greatly increased. For some medium and small countries that do not have a complete military industry and are short of cash, South Korea's arms are a good choice. After the FA-50 was ordered by Poland, Slovakia, Egypt and Malaysia and other countries have also shown strong interest in this fighter. As for the two equipments of K2 main battle tank and K9 self-propelled howitzer , there are endless countries to consult...
When the arms are sold, holding such a defense exhibition based on South Korea's military industry in a timely manner can gain popularity for South Korea's weapons to enter the world, and at the same time, it can gain more orders.
So, what classic equipment and new weapons did the Korean military enterprise have taken out at this defense exhibition?
First look at the exhibits of Korea Aerospace Industry Corporation (KAI);
KAIA is currently the largest military aircraft manufacturer in South Korea. It was established in the late 1990s and was formed by the merger of three companies, Hyundai Aviation, Samsung Aerospace Industry and Daewoo Heavy Industry. The company's businesses include the research and development and manufacturing of military fighter jets, trainer jets, , general-purpose helicopters, drones, launch vehicle and various satellite . The total assets of the company are close to US$2.5 billion.
South Korea's first supersonic trainer T-50 is the company's masterpiece. On this basis, the FA-50 derived from this has now become KAI's main product;
At this defense exhibition, in addition to exhibiting the FA-50 fighter , KAI, which recently successfully tested the KF-21 fourth-generation and a half-fighter, also made its debut, but it is not the most attractive fighter on the KAI booth;
st most eye-catching aircraft models are the MC-X multi-purpose transport aircraft, KF-21N carrier-based aircraft and light armed helicopters launched by KAI.
KF-21N is a carrier-based aircraft specially created in response to the aircraft carrier plan promoted by the South Korean military, similar to the US-made F/A-18 "Super Hornet". This aircraft is a naval version of KF-21 and is suitable for medium and small aircraft carrier . KAI company is very optimistic about the prospects of this aircraft; however, since South Korea has not yet launched a certain aircraft carrier development. Decided, this carrier-based aircraft is just a model now;
and MC-X transport aircraft is a KAI-produced transport aircraft , which is between the American C-130 and the European A400M, and is expected to be mass-produced around 2032 and is positioned as a multi-purpose military transport aircraft .
Second, Hanhua Defense
Hanhua Defense is a subsidiary of Hanhua Group , specializing in the defense equipment business. K9 "King Kong" self-propelled howitzer and "Red Back Spider" infantry fighting vehicle are the company's main products;
At this defense exhibition, in addition to displaying its main products, Hanhua Defense also brought many new products including K10 armored vehicles, next-generation mechanized combat weapons, hybrid armored vehicles, and UAM "Defense Tilt Rotor (TR)" vertical take-off and landing aircraft developed in cooperation with Over Air in the United States.
The KTSSM ground-to-ground tactical missile system, which was delayed in mass production, was also unveiled at the defense exhibition. South Korea's Defense named it "Arson Killer". This type of missile system was originally planned to be mass-produced in 2021, but later it was delayed due to the failure of the United States to approve the export of relevant accessories. It is expected that KTSSM will enter the South Korean military service by the end of 2023.
Third, Hyundai Rotem
Hyundai Rotem is a defense company under Hyundai Group, mainly engaged in land equipment, and the K2 "Black Panther" main battle tank is the company's product;
At the defense exhibition, Hyundai Rotem displayed a wheeled armored vehicle with 105mm, ADS anti-UAV weapon system, RCWS remote control weapon system, and 81mm car-mounted howitzer.
fourth, LIG Nex1
LIG Nex1 company mainly engages in missile , radar , electronic warfare equipment, avionics equipment, fire control system and torpedo . It is the main supplier of Korean military-related products. The company is NEX1 Future and LG lnnotek merged;
The company's previous main products were the "Tiangong" series of medium-range air defense missile systems. The products exhibited by this company at this defense exhibition include KCD-40 drone, portable air defense missile , anti-tank missile and other weapons; in addition, LIG also exhibited concept equipment such as ship-based electronic warfare equipment with artificial intelligence functions.
In addition to the four traditional defense companies in South Korea, such as Korean Air, SNT Heavy Industry, and Fengshan Ammunition, have also brought out their latest products to participate in the exhibition, such as SNT's 120mm tactical mortar system, Korean Air's unmanned reconnaissance aircraft, various new guns under development, etc....
Looking at this defense exhibition, the weapon scope is still relatively comprehensive, but no innovative products have been launched. The only highlight may be the carrier-based aircraft and transport aircraft of KAI.
