KADEX 2024 Plan to Become One of the Top Four Powerhouses

Caption: Retired General Kwon (near South Korea flag) held a KADEX 2024 briefing session and the Wigukheonsin Comradeship Fund donation ceremony on April 19.

STARTING with this year’s edition of the Korea Army International Defence Industry Exhibition (KADEX) exhibition, the Korea Army Association is evaluating it in a new direction, breaking the existing framework by considering military, diplomacy, information and economy (DIME).

The association recognised the continuous K-defence boom due to recent international block formations, simultaneous wars, supply chain instability, and the demand for changes in the military’s structure and expansion due to the universalisation of advanced science and technology and multi-domain military activities. They identified opportunities and challenges for the defence industry in response to the increased tempo and demand for civilian-military cooperation to address the hyper-connectivity of DIME elements and the increase in threats.

Along with this, the strategy for KADEX 2024 was to apply the concept of the “AUSA Annual Meeting” by the US Army Association (AUSA), where the present and future coexist. Through the convergence of reality and virtual world, seminars and exhibitions are harmonised and balanced, presenting a vision on how the Army fights, weapon systems, and organisation and formation with all Army members, the public, domestic and foreign defence companies, and allied and cooperative countries.

The key focus of KADEX 2024 includes placing the Army Pavilion at a crucial point, exhibiting weapon systems implementing the Army’s fighting methods divided into current and future forces. Current forces will be displayed by combat function, and to promote the stable supply chain, a strength of K-defence, SMEs and local government defence clusters will be exhibited simultaneously by function.

Future forces are exhibited to visualise the blueprint of the Army’s future combat system “Army Tiger”. A separate Small Business Pavilion is operated to support companies with innovative military science and technology, focusing on visualising the strengths of K-defence and the Army’s fighting methods, current and future.

The topics for forums and seminars will be expanded beyond the existing “How to fight” to include various Army issues such as military organisation culture and welfare, aiming to increase participation from key Army positions. The forum presenters will include not only practitioners but also civilian and Army personnel, academia and research institutions to promote communication between the Army and the public.

The Korea Army Association, through insights from AUSA, EUROSATORY and IDEX, explained the need for a platform to build an advanced ecosystem of global exhibitions and the defence industry. This aims to meet the goals of increasing the global defence market scale, enhancing K-defence attention, entering the top four global defence exporters, and achieving a 5% share of the global defence market.

Exhibition Analysis, Configuration

The existing exhibit and display will be by battlefield function, with comprehensive exhibition halls for weapon and power support systems, linked exhibitions of front and rear industries, and meeting the needs of attendees (buyers, companies, general visitors). Special emphasis is placed on policy promotion for advancing to a powerful military through the operation of the Defence Innovation 4.0 Special Hall. The exhibition is divided into Command and Control/Information Hall, Mobility Hall, Firepower/Protection Hall, and Aerospace Hall, integrating weapon systems and power support systems by battlefield function. Identical items such as finished products, components, and maintenance equipment are placed in the same area to provide optimal viewing routes for buyers. Linked exhibitions between front and rear industries will also facilitate technical exchanges and cooperation.

Addressing Issues from Previous Exhibitions

The event will be held at Gyeryongdae to address issues identified in previous exhibition analyses, such as the lack of participation conditions for decision-makers, the restriction of participation for many Army and defence-related institutions, and the inconvenience of visiting related institutions by overseas military VIPs. The event will be continuously managed before (through the website), during (using GPS-based indoor navigation system for easy location identification), and after the event (online 365-day promotion and recreation of the exhibition site).

Invitations to Global Defence Stakeholders

The Korea Army Association plans to invite buyers from over 50 countries, double the number of previous exhibitions. Special official buyer delegations from Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia, which show high interest in K-defence, will be invited. A 1:1 matching program with major domestic defence companies will be operated, and the largest export consultation meeting will be held to achieve the best results.

Installation of Exhibition Halls, Infrastructure Inspection

To dispel concerns about holding the event at Gyeryongdae, the exhibition halls will be installed as AL-Hall tents, with a size of 340m x 50m (A/B halls), a maximum height of 14m, and a minimum height of 6m, along with a separate opening ceremony and luncheon hall, seminar rooms, covering a total area of 37,600 sq m. Infrastructure inspection will secure accommodations and transportation measures, secure a number of five-star hotel rooms in advance, provide separate VIP protocol vehicles, operate shuttles between Daejeon, Gyeryong and the exhibition site, and establish safety management measures for outdoor events, including emergency response plans and manuals and specialised safety inspections (fire safety, health, medical, security, safety control).

Promoting, Marketing KADEX

To promote and market KADEX, online channel search optimisation on global portals, strengthening SNS content, operating global media partners in nine countries including the UK, Australia and India, conducting preview broadcasts, live broadcasting from the exhibition site, inviting defence-related influencers, and other various promotional activities will contribute to the globalization of the “KADEX” brand.

Korea Army Association president, Retired General Kwon Oh-seong stated: “KADEX 2024 will be a platform where the Army is the centre, presents the Army’s vision, promotes K-defence and returns the created value to the Army.”-shp/adj/ar(Pix:KADEX)