Drone Show Korea. Photo courtesy of BEXCO

Drones Prove Their Power in Modern Warfare – Drone Show Korea Grows into Asia’s Largest Drone Exhibition as ‘DSK 2025’

In modern conflicts such as the Russia-Ukraine war, drones have demonstrated overwhelming power to shift the balance on the battlefield. Beyond military use, drone-based delivery and transportation technologies are expected to dramatically reshape future lifestyles. Next-generation technologies are increasingly being integrated with drones, solidifying their role at the heart of future industries.

Drone Show Korea, which began modestly in Busan, has grown into Asia’s largest drone exhibition in time for its 10th anniversary. This year’s event, the largest ever, offers an expanded and diverse lineup of exhibitions and experiences. Notably, the 2025 edition embraces a carbon-neutral “Net Zero” approach, adding greater significance.

Co-hosted by the City of Busan, Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Ministry of National Defense, and the Korea AeroSpace Administration, and organized by BEXCO and the Korea Unmanned Vehicle Systems Association, the newly rebranded ‘DSK 2025 (Drone Show Korea)’ will be held over three days at BEXCO in Busan starting January 26.

The rebranding to “DSK” reflects a strategic transformation, aiming to broaden the scope of the event by incorporating various 5th Industrial Revolution technologies centered around drones. The event is evolving beyond a conventional trade show into a comprehensive industrial platform, creating a tangible business hub that generates real value and outcomes for participating companies.

DSK 2025 will feature a record 15 countries, 306 companies, and 1,130 booths, occupying 26,508㎡ of exhibition space. The conference will include 44 speakers and chairs from 9 countries and offer a wide range of hands-on events.

The Ministry of National Defense will present the latest technologies of the Army, Navy, and Air Force under the theme of an AI-based integrated manned-unmanned combat system leading the battlefield of the future. The Army will outline its operational strategy and future concepts for unmanned ground forces. The Navy will showcase AI-driven manned-unmanned maritime systems for future naval warfare. The Air Force will present current and future unmanned systems designed to dominate next-generation battlefields.

Additional highlights include:

• The 4th Defense Minister’s Dronebot Challenge briefing (Jan. 26)

• The Defense Acquisition Program Administration’s briefing on special drone and anti-drone programs (Jan. 27)

Major industry players will also be present:

• Korean Air, unveiling AI-powered unmanned flight systems and Korea’s leading UAM traffic management/control infrastructure.

• KAI (Korea Aerospace Industries), presenting next-generation AI-based aerial combat systems.

• Vessel Aerospace, debuting its lineup of vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) medium UAVs and small reconnaissance drones for the first time.

DSK 2025 positions itself as a central hub for the future of drone technology and mobility.

Drone Show Korea. Photo courtesy of BEXCO

NeursLab, showcasing AI-based integrated drone systems and unmanned drone technologies for various applications; Poongsan Corporation exhibiting high-power, high-efficiency small combat drone systems; Daon I&C launching the next-generation domestic swarm drone brand SWARM-X; Korea Defense Industry presenting suicide drones, drop drones, and battalion-level reconnaissance drones; Pablo Aviation leading next-generation defense industry and drone art shows with advanced autonomous swarm control technology; along with MGIT, Ness & Tech, Asseta, Yukon System, and PNU Drone—all participating heavily in the unmanned aerial vehicle (drone) sector.

LIG Nex1 will showcase unmanned solutions and complex drone attack defense systems, while SK Telecom will present real-time AI integrated control system use cases through unmanned drone stations. Baylis, a mid-to-last-mile complex mobility platform company, and Vololand, which launched a high-performance domestic drone flight controller, are among many companies with drone operation technologies participating.

Noteworthy is the joint pavilion on aerospace centered around the Korea Aerospace Administration, now participating as a hosting ministry from this year. Comprising research institutes, universities, startups, and SMEs, this pavilion expands the scope of DSK 2025 from drones to aerospace, offering new business models.

Exhibits will include representative aerospace and space industry items such as the Nuri rocket and stratospheric drones, geostationary satellite GNSS receivers, and development achievements of the Korea Aerospace Administration’s ‘Space Pioneer Project’ for domestic core technologies of launch vehicles and satellites, as well as advanced technologies from private aerospace companies.

The K-Drone Delivery Pavilion will showcase drone delivery systems (“K-Drone Delivery Commercialization Model”) and safety management technologies used in daily life areas such as islands, parks, and ports. The Spatial Information Convergence Alliance Pavilion, organized by the National Geographic Information Institute and the Spatial Information Quality Management Institute with 18 specialized spatial information companies, will also be present.

The Disaster Safety Drone Pavilion will introduce technologies for responding to disaster safety situations, featuring use cases from the National Fire Agency and the Water Resources Corporation. The pavilion will also host the Drone Security National Consortium project and unveil Korea’s first multipurpose VTOL hoverbike developed by KAIST ASCL.

This year, DSK has seen remarkable qualitative and quantitative growth in foreign participation, with 66 overseas companies from 14 countries attending. Notable new participants include China and the U.S., as well as European countries such as Finland, Germany, and Poland.

Among Polish defense companies, WB Group will present unmanned platforms and command systems, while Liberaware (Japan) will showcase hazardous site detection technology using ultra-small drones. The event will also attract foreign ambassadors based in Korea, senior military officers, police, government officials, and international organization representatives from 20 countries as buyers, facilitating diverse business exchanges with domestic participants.

The two-day conference starting on the 26th will feature keynote speeches on day one by Clinton Heimann, Deputy Minister of Land Reform and Rural Development of South Africa, and Lee Bo-hyung, senior advisor at the Korea Aerospace Research Institute and inaugural drone operations commander, discussing the latest global drone industry trends and future directions in aerospace and mobility.

In the afternoon session on day one, participants include the World Bank, U.S. drone industry media Drone Life, and Ubipai—the first Korean drone company to achieve $10 million in exports—covering global drone market trends and overseas expansion strategies for Korean drone firms.

Day two’s conference on the 27th will split into two tracks covering drone commercialization, law, policy, technology, global case studies, AI, future power sources, and sustainable aviation.

To boost public engagement, a drone entertainment zone featuring water drone racing will be available. On the evening of the 26th, a 600-drone fireworks show titled “Connection and Innovation Opening the Future” will be held outdoors over BEXCO.

DSK 2025 will implement greenhouse gas reduction activities related to exhibition operations. Remaining emissions will be offset using internationally certified carbon credits to achieve carbon neutrality, setting a new direction for sustainable exhibitions.

Park Hyung-joon, Mayor of Busan, said, “Since its launch in 2016 as Korea’s first drone show, Drone Show Korea has seen remarkable growth over the past 10 years, becoming Asia’s largest drone exhibition and a premier event attracting top domestic and international experts. Over the next decade, it will evolve into an aerospace, mobility, and technology exhibition expanded to include new areas like new space, future mobility, net zero, and AI.”