Sacheon City to Host the 2024 Sacheon Airshow with Exciting New Features

Over 70 Air Force Aircraft from Korea, US, and Australia, Aviation Universities, and Paul Bennet Airshow Team to Participate

The vibrant and newly enhanced 2024 Sacheon Airshow will unfold for four days starting from the 24th, under the blue skies of Sacheon, Gyeongsangnam-do, the aerospace capital of Korea.

The highlight of the event is the “2024 Sacheon Airshow,” the only airshow held in the southern region of Korea. This is the first time it will be presented in collaboration with the Republic of Korea Air Force since the decision to hold it biennially (in even-numbered years).

Photos from the 2022 Sacheon Airshow.

The 2024 Sacheon Airshow is jointly hosted by the Republic of Korea Air Force, Gyeongsangnam-do, Sacheon City, and Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI). It features a total of 85 programs across nine categories. In addition to the main events such as the airshow, experience flights, Youth Aviation Day, aviation competitions, and various VR/AR-based experiences and educational programs, there will also be academic conferences attended by industry, academia, research, and government representatives, an export consultation meeting for Korea’s aerospace and defense industry, and an aerospace industry exhibition hall. This elevates the event from a festival to an opportunity to experience the future of the aerospace industry.

Following the first ground display of the KF-21, Korea’s next-generation fighter jet, in 2022, this year will feature a demonstration flight of the KF-21. As the largest defense R&D achievement since the founding of the military, the KF-21 signed a mass production contract for 20 units with the Defense Acquisition Program Administration in June and is undergoing stable development with the goal of replacing aging fighter jets (F-4, F-5) and enhancing the combat capability of the Korean Air Force by 2032.

Not only the KF-21, which has elevated Korea’s status in aerospace science and technology, but also the Korean Light Armed Helicopter (LAH), the domestically produced supersonic trainer (T-50), and the first fully indigenously developed trainer (KT-1), all developed or produced in Sacheon, the aerospace capital, will be showcased in demonstration flights.

This year, around 70 aircraft from the Army, Air Force, and US Air Force, as well as about 30 civilian aircraft from aviation universities and the Australian Paul Bennett Airshow Team, will participate. A record 32 types of aviation armaments and equipment will be on display.

Following a high-difficulty high-altitude parachute demonstration, where Air Force special mission personnel jump from 2,100 meters above ground with smoke, rainbow, and multicolored streamers before landing at designated points, a search and rescue demonstration will realistically depict the rescue of friendly pilots from enemy territory. This event, returning to the Sacheon Airshow for the first time in five years since 2019, is being prepared on an even grander scale.

The experience and education zone has been newly organized with programs incorporating fourth industrial revolution content, such as an air dome theater, immersive video shooting simulators, and drone experiences. The “2nd Sacheon Aerospace Education Festival,” organized by the Sacheon Office of Education, will also be held in conjunction, offering a variety of aerospace experience programs tailored for children and youth at the Sacheon Aerospace Theme Park.

The aviation simulation air racing competition has been upgraded from a solo time trial format to a real-time ranking race, with the pilot aircraft upgraded from the KT-1 trainer to the next-generation KF-21 fighter jet.

The Republic of Korea Air Force will present its vision for the future as a space air force and a combined manned/unmanned combat system, operating a space air force experience zone that applies cutting-edge technologies such as VR and the metaverse.

In addition, Korea’s leading defense companies?KAI, Hanwha Aerospace, and LIG Nex1?will participate in the aerospace industry exhibition hall alongside the Air Force. KAI will promote its aircraft models and simulator/VR experiences, Hanwha Aerospace will exhibit its space and aviation engine divisions, and LIG Nex1 will showcase long-range air-to-ground guided missile and KGB models.

Other participants in the aerospace industry exhibition hall include Gyeongnam Technopark, Korea Aerospace Research Institute, Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, VINA Tech, Victek, ANH Systems, Gloria Aviation, Daon INC, and Yoo Eungyeon, among many other companies and institutions.

At the 6th Civil-Military-Government Cooperation Aerospace Power Development Conference, Kim Seungjo, Professor Emeritus of Aerospace Engineering at Seoul National University, will give a special presentation on the theme “K-Space Era: Space Security, Industrial Development, and Cooperation Strategies.”

Meanwhile, the 2024 Korea Aerospace Industry Export Consultation Meeting will be held in conjunction with the Sacheon Airshow to promote the local aerospace industry, coinciding with the opening of the Aerospace Administration. One-on-one business meetings and networking support for companies will take place over two days, from October 24 to 25.