[The Suwan News, By Reporter Youn Siyoung] The clear autumn sky became a gigantic canvas. As fighter jets, soaring with a ground-shaking roar, traversed the sky as if defying gravity, gasps of awe erupted from the crowd filling Seoul Airport in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province.
This was the highlight of the ‘2025 Seoul International Aerospace & Defense Exhibition’ (Seoul ADEX 2025)—the demonstration flight—which unfolded over the weekend from the 17th to the 19th. State-of-the-art aircraft, symbolizing the present and future of K-Defense, showcased their overwhelming majesty as they defended the Republic of Korea’s airspace.
The undisputed star of this airshow was South Korea’s independently developed 4.5-generation fighter jet, the KF-21 ‘Boramae’. Taking off from the runway to the full anticipation of the audience, the KF-21 immediately dominated the sky, emitting a powerful engine roar.
The KF-21, which is soon to be deployed for active service, demonstrated dynamic and operational maneuvers far beyond its previous test flights. It vanished from sight in an instant with a steep vertical climb, then immediately proved its perfect stability and control performance with sharp high-G turns and inverted flight (flying the aircraft upside down). Although it was a short flight of barely four minutes, it was enough time to impress the world with the remarkable leap in South Korean aerospace technology.
The “World’s Best” Republic of Korea Air Force aerobatic team, the ‘Black Eagles’, presented a moving aerial orchestra as eight T-50B jets moved as one synchronized body.
The Black Eagles appeared in a tight diamond formation and immediately scattered in all directions, performing high-level maneuvers that left the spectators on the edge of their seats. Notably, during the ‘Wedge Break’ maneuver, where two aircraft rush toward each other and cross with breathtaking proximity, short screams could be heard throughout the viewing area.
The climax of the flight was undoubtedly the ‘Taeguk’ maneuver. As the eight aircraft simultaneously emitted white and red smoke to draw a gigantic Taeguk symbol over Seoul Airport, the spectators burst into cheers and captured the majestic moment with their cameras.
In addition, the T-50 advanced trainer and the KT-1 basic trainer, key players in the K-Defense export success story, along with the Army’s core asset, the LAH (Light Armed Helicopter), demonstrated powerful maneuvers reminiscent of actual combat scenarios. True to its reputation as the ‘Golden Eagle’, the T-50 showed off agile maneuverability comparable to the KF-21, while the LAH demonstrated a powerful presence, dominating ground threats through hovering and sudden tactical dive maneuvers.
Meanwhile, the ‘Business Day,’ continuing from the 20th to the 24th at KINTEX in Goyang, will officially unveil cutting-edge defense technologies, such as AI and MUM-T (Manned-Unmanned Teaming), which are set to dominate the future battlefield, along with blueprints for the aerospace sector. If the ‘power’ of K-Defense was demonstrated over Seoul Airport during the weekend, the time has now begun to prove the ‘technological prowess’ of K-Defense to global buyers.
Further information and events can be found on the following official website.(https://seouladex.com/kr/public/)
The Suwan News, By Reporter Youn Siyoung
수완뉴스 대학생기자단 소속 기자
대외활동 커리어 개발
항공산업, 대학 및 산학연협력, 정부공직 관련 분야 및 항공우주, 방산분야 종사 경력
