Defense industry officials who attended the ‘Seoul International Aerospace & Defense Exhibition (ADEX 2025)’ held in October this year at Seoul Airport in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province and KINTEX in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, could not hide their surprise and admiration at LIG Nex1’s booth, which was markedly different from previous years.

LIG Nex1, which organized its exhibition hall under the theme of “50 Years of Change, 50 Years of Leap Forward,” showcased at the forefront not only its representative weapon systems—such as the long-range surface-to-air guided missile ‘L-SAM’, the medium-range/mid-altitude interception system ‘Cheongung II’, the ship-to-air guided missile ‘Haegung’, the Long-range Artillery Interception System (LAMD), and the man-portable surface-to-air guided missile ‘Shingung’ as part of its multi-layered air defense network solution—but also next-generation technologies in the space and aviation sectors that are attracting attention as future growth drivers.

As LIG Nex1 has won the contract for the ‘Chollian 5’ project, the first geostationary satellite program led by a private company in Korea, and is entering a full-fledged expansion of its satellite business, it also exhibited ultra-high-resolution SAR satellites and ultra-small SAR satellite systems, demonstrating its advanced space technology capabilities.

In particular, for ‘Chollian 5’, LIG Nex1 is developing not only the system but also the satellite bus and payload. Through this, the company is assessed to have taken a step ahead in the domestic satellite business and technology fields by securing, for the first time in the private sector, heritage in geostationary-class satellite platforms. By further advancing the core technologies of SAR, communications, and optical payloads, it is expected to grow into a comprehensive satellite solutions company capable of responding to various civilian and military demands.

The systematic establishment of the foundation for the successful execution of its space and satellite business and for future growth is also under way. The satellite assembly building completed in Daejeon in October this year is equipped with a clean room, a constant temperature and humidity room, the nation’s first horizontal near-field chamber, and an advanced ‘satellite imagery utilization room’ for the application of satellite information.

Meanwhile, at ADEX, LIG Nex1 focused on introducing next-generation technologies and products, as well as artificial intelligence (AI)-based unmanned solutions, that are expected to shape the future air battlefield. In particular, it unveiled a large number of airborne weapon systems to be mounted on the KF-21, Korea’s first domestically developed fighter aircraft. These included a long-range air-to-surface guided missile for precision strikes on key distant targets, a Korean-type short-range air-to-air guided missile to enhance survivability in close air combat, and a long-range air-to-air guided missile to enable beyond-visual-range engagements.

The company also drew attention from the defense industry and attendees by unveiling for the first time the electronic warfare aircraft configuration, dubbed the “Guardian of the Sky.” In peacetime, electronic warfare aircraft collect and analyze threat signals from adversaries and neighboring countries, and in wartime, they can neutralize enemy integrated air defense networks and wireless command and control systems through long-range electronic attacks, making them a core component of modern air power.

LIG Nex1 plans to continue its “defense export momentum” by building a K-style air defense belt centered on precision-guided weapons, while enhancing global competitiveness not only for the company but also for the Republic of Korea’s defense industry through sustained research and development of △“satellite systems” to lead the private-sector-driven new space era and △“next-generation airborne weapon systems” that will be central to future Air Force capabilities.

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