- Set for record-breaking scale with official support from the Ministry of National Defense, ROK Army, and DAPA.
- Venue at Gyeryongdae, the tri-service headquarters, to draw major influx of top-tier military officials and key decision-makers.
KADEX 2026 (Korea Army International Defense Industry Exhibition), the largest land defense exhibition in Asia, is scheduled to be held at Gyeryongdae, Chungcheongnam-do, for five days from October 6 to 10, 2026. The event is set to feature 450 companies and 2,032 booths, marking the largest scale in its history. The venue, Gyeryongdae, serves as the center of South Korea’s national defense, housing the headquarters of the Army, Navy, and Air Force, and is located in proximity to core military institutions such as the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) and the Agency for Defense Development (ADD). This location provides optimal accessibility for top-ranking military officials and policy decision-makers.
KADEX 2026 is officially sponsored by major military and government agencies, including the Ministry of National Defense, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and DAPA. Support is also provided by defense research institutes such as the Agency for Defense Development, the Korea Institute of Military Technology, and the Korea Research Institute for Defense Technology Planning, along with major government bodies including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Science and ICT, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, the Public Procurement Service, and the Korea Aerospace Administration.
Through this extensive government and military support, the exhibition facilitates official invitations for overseas delegations, government-to-government (G2G) exchange events, official procurement meetings, and equipment demonstrations. This recognition establishes KADEX 2026 as an official platform for national defense export strategies beyond a simple private-sector event.
The exhibition space of KADEX 2026 is organized by battlefield functions based on actual operational concepts rather than company size or nationality. The zones consist of Intelligence & C4I, Maneuver, Firepower, Protection & Anti-Drone, Space & Aerospace, and Power Support. The integrated placement of weapon and non-weapon systems enables technical exchange and cooperation between front-end and back-end industries while improving convenience for buyers. In particular, a Battlefield Innovation Pavilion is established to introduce advanced technologies and products such as AI, robotics, and autonomous driving that are transforming the future of warfare.
Major domestic defense companies, including Hanwha Group, Hyundai Motor Group, KAI (Korea Aerospace Industries), LIG Nex1, Korean Air, and Poongsan, have already completed their applications. Furthermore, national pavilions from 10 countries, including the USA, Saudi Arabia, India, Canada, the Netherlands, Sweden, Latvia, Finland, Portugal, and Vietnam, are participating in the event.
KADEX is hosted by the Association of the Republic of Korea Army (AROKA), a non-profit corporation established to support the policies and development of the ROK Army. Following the Ministry of National Defense’s approval of an Army-specific defense exhibition and the principle of “Civilian-led, Government-supported,” AROKA was selected as the private organizer. AROKA previously organized the defense exhibition under the name DX KOREA biennially from 2014 to 2022. Since 2024, the exhibition has been renamed KADEX and has been moved to Gyeryongdae to expand its scale and strengthen international competitiveness.
An official from AROKA stated, “This exhibition is being prepared with record-breaking scale and substantial content. Our goal is to promote domestic defense technology globally and create an event where government, military, industry, and academia collaborate as a platform that practically connects all stakeholders in the defense industry.”
