Korea International Airshow 2023

The Seoul International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition 2023 was being held at the KINTEX building in Seoul the capital of Korea. It provided a good insight of the capabilities of the Korean Aerospace Industry. Two days before the show an aerial demonstration was being held at Cheongju International Airport in the centre of Korea. The purpose of the show was to provide export opportunity for the domestic aerospace and Defense industry and to promote the development of the country’s relevant industries through expanding technology exchange with advanced aerospace and Defense Industry worldwide. It gave also an opportunity for promotion of the Korean Air Force activities and to educate the public about the aerospace industry.

Two helicopter assets of the Korean Air Force; the CH47 Chinhook and the KAMOV KA 32.

Total 361 companies from 28 countries displayed their products, the size of the indoor exhibition hall was 26289 sq.m. During the live demonstration and Acrobatic Flight at Cheongju International Airport the Korea Air Force Black Eagle showed their excellent aerial performance with the T50, and Korean build trainer aircraft with excellent flight performances.

Further aircraft in the Aircraft Exhibition were: F-15K, KF-16, F-4E, F-5E, C-130, CN235, P-3C, E737 (brand-new), T-50, KT-1 and the Surion helicopter. We were invited by the Korean Aerospace Industries to see the live demonstrations and acrobatic flight performances from close by at Cheongju International Airport. The Koreans provided to be an excellent host and everything was done to give us a nice photo opportunity of the participating aircraft.All pictures (c) Ronald Stevelink.

The latest development of the Korean Aerospace Industry is the FA-50, a very modern medium armed fighter plane. The trainer version is the T-50. The aircraft is already ordered by Poland, Indonesia, Philippines and other countries.

The Republic of Korea Airforce (RoKAF) is mainly equipped with US made aircraft. Besides the F35, the F15 Strike Eagle the RoKAF is alo equipped with 180 F16's

The pilot of this F-15K Strike Eagle of the RoKAF new exactly where I was standing and turned at the right time