Seoul Air Show to Kick Off
By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
South Korea's biennial international aerospace and defense exhibition, dubbed the Seoul Air Show, is to open Tuesday at Seoul Airport, south of Seoul, for a six-day run.
This year's show, the sixth of its kind, will feature more than 225 state-of-the-art aircraft, ground and naval weapons systems, space equipment, and full scale and mock-up weapons systems.
About 50 military chiefs and procurement officials will also attend the event in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, the organizers said.
The Seoul Air Show, formally known as the Korea Aerospace & Defense Exhibition, was first held in 1996. The third event scheduled for 2000 was delayed to 2001 because of Seoul's hosting of the Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM) in 2000.
The show is co-organized by the Korea Aerospace Industries Association, the Korea Defense Industry Association and the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency.
The Defense Acquisition Program Administration is participating as a supportive organization.
About 50 aircraft will be on display, including South Korea's T-50 Golden Eagle supersonic trainer, KT-1 Woongbi basic trainer, KO-1 forward airborne controller, F-15K and KF-16 fighter jets, the officials said.
Among other exhibits are F-15C and F-16C/D fighters, and AH-64 Apache helicopters, they said.
South Korean Air Force's ``Black Eagle'' acrobatic flight team is scheduled to perform their last flight with the A-37 Dragonfly aircraft, which are to be replaced by T-50s.
South Korea's advanced ground weapons systems will also be showcased. They include the XK2 Black Panther main battle tank and K2 infantry fighting vehicle built by the state-run Agency for Defense Development, and K-9 Thunder howitzer developed by Samsung Techwin.
The Army's mobile Chunma (Pegasus) short-range, surface-to-air missile system and K-30 Biho (Flying Tiger) self-propelled 30 mm twin-gun system will also be put on display. The Navy is to showcase P-3C maritime patrol aircraft and Lynx anti-submarine helicopters.
On Monday, an international air force chiefs' conference, the first of its kind, is to take place in Seoul, along with an aerospace symposium, according to organizers.
The show is to be open to the public for Oct. 20-21 after the Business Day events from Oct. 16-19.