The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on February 22 that Drone Show Korea 2023 will be held through February 23-25 at Busan Exhibition and Convention Center (BEXCO) and Deputy Minister for the Office of Industrial Policy Joo Young-joon is attending the opening ceremony to visit the exhibition booths and encourage participants.
Marking its seventh show this year, Drone Show Korea was first launched in 2016 and is the nation’s largest drone exhibition, co-hosted by Busan Metropolitan City, MOTIE, the Ministry of Science and ICT, Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and organized by BEXCO and the Korea UVS (Unmanned Vehicle Systems) Association. This year’s show will focus on R&D achievements and everyday applications of drone technologies and services featured via 625 exhibition booths set up by 172 companies and public institutions.
The Ministry of National Defense will showcase the Republic of Korea (ROK) Army’s AI-based Dronebots’ combat system “Army Tiger”, the ROK Navy’s mix of manned-unmanned naval combat system, the ROK Air Force’s unmanned aerial system, and the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA)’s force integration of its drone weapon systems.
Various drones and unmanned aircraft platforms by Korean Air, next-generation hydrogen fuel cell drones by Doosan Mobility Innovation and drone control tower and anti-drone solution by Ucon System Corporation will also be displayed alongside many others.
SK E&S will introduce multiple uses of hydrogen-powered drones, and SK Telecom will demonstrate how drones are used for solar panel AI analysis.
Companies based in China, Japan, Switzerland and the U.S. will be participating in the exhibition as well.
During the conference session, Whisper Aero CEO Mark Moore and Professor Chung Soon-jo of California Institute of Technology (Caltech) will give keynote speeches on challenges of the future mobility industry.
A section of the conference will be devoted to overseas market strategies of “K-drones” by KOTRA, and Drone Industry Insights CFO Henrik Boedecker will be speaking on global drone industry trends for 2023.
Extensive scope of drone utilization, current status of internal and external drone weapon systems and future mobility ecosystem are some additional topics for presentations.
MOTIE’s Deputy Minister for the Office of Industrial Policy Joo Young-joon stated that the importance of drones is increasing in terms of not only industry but also security amidst the spread of unmanned vehicles deployed in the Russia-Ukraine war and the rise of urban air mobility (UAM) and advanced air mobility (AAM).
According to Deputy Minister Joo, localization of core MPEs (materials, parts, equipment) and development of various transport drone vehicles, including OPPA V (optionally piloted personal air vehicle), is currently in progress through cooperation with the military. Moreover, construction of a national flight performance test site is nearing completion, and will serve as infrastructure for test flight of drones and UAMs once finished.
He added that MOTIE will actively assist regulatory improvement, development of drone ecosystems and overseas market entrance of Korean drone systems.