A large-scale expo showcasing the latest technologies and vision of the drone and urban air mobility (UAM) industries will be held in Songdo, Incheon.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) and Incheon Metropolitan City said Wednesday that they will hold the sixth "2026 Korea Drone·UAM Expo" for three days from the 15th to the 17th of this month at the Songdo Convensia area in Incheon. The event is organized by the Korea Institute of Aviation Safety Technology, the Korea Land and Geospatial Informatix Corporation, the Korea Transportation Safety Authority, and the Incheon International Airport Corporation, and will also be held at Incheon National University and Dalbit Festival Park.
On the morning of the 15th, the first day of the expo, a public flight demonstration of the K-UAM air taxi developed by a domestic company will be conducted ahead of the opening ceremony. Through a UAM aircraft actually flying in the sky, the event will present a vision of future mobility contributing to public transportation convenience and innovation in public services across various fields such as emergency medical care and disaster response.
At the opening ceremony held on the same day from 11:10 a.m., there will be a screening of a themed video depicting the future daily life created by drones and UAM, a presentation of drone·UAM promotion strategies, a VR drawing ceremony, and the ceremonial kickoff of the international drone soccer tournament. The international drone soccer tournament "2026 FIDA Intercontinental Cup" will run for three days, featuring various events including Class40 and Class20 national team competitions, club competitions, and a super pilot all-star match, with more than 20 countries from around the world participating.
At night, the fireworks drone light show "K-Drone Festival" will greet visitors. At 8 p.m. on the 15th and 17th, thousands of drones will fill the night sky of Songdo Dalbit Festival Park under the theme "A Future City Where Our Imagination Comes True," and at the festival park, visitors can also enjoy a public participation drone delivery event and a musical performance. The drone delivery event will select 60 winners through online pre-selection or on-site drawing, who will receive items such as chicken and beverages delivered by time slot on the 17th.
At the Songdo Convensia exhibition hall, 137 companies and organizations, including companies such as Korean Air, Pablo, UVify, and Narma, as well as public institutions and local governments, will participate to comprehensively showcase drone·UAM industry policies, aircraft and component technologies, and service models. The exhibition is organized by themes, including the UAM Integration Hall, Drone Company Hall, Drone Public Innovation Hall, Future Aviation Policy Hall, Overseas Drone Exhibition Hall, and Drone Experience Hall.
In the UAM Integration Hall, 20 companies and organizations, including firms participating in K-UAM One Team demonstrations, will create an immersive exhibition space where citizens become UAM passengers of 2028 and sequentially experience boarding reservations, security screening, the traffic control system, vertiport takeoff and landing pads, and simulators. In the Drone Company Hall, 65 companies including Korean Air, LG Energy Solution, UVify, Vololand, and Systech will participate to exhibit medium-to-large unmanned aircraft, transport drone bodies, high-performance batteries, swarm flight aircraft, and AI autonomous flight technology.
In the Drone Public Innovation Hall, 29 local governments including Incheon Metropolitan City and Pyeongtaek City, along with 14 administrative and public institutions including the National Fire Agency and the Korea Expressway Corporation, will participate to introduce how drones are used in public service fields such as rescue, safety management, and facility inspection. At the Future Aviation Policy Hall, MOLIT will showcase the operational status of drone demonstration cities for drone delivery and safety patrols, as well as plans to build national drone infrastructure and a drone traffic management system. The Overseas Drone Exhibition Hall will feature five countries, including the United States, Canada, Senegal, Nigeria, and Mauritania, introducing their representative aircraft, components, and technologies. At the Drone Experience Hall, three institutions including Aelux and the National Aviation Museum will run drone piloting education, DIY drone-building, and drone leisure sports experience programs for student and family visitors.
During the expo, various side events will also be held, including a global conference with 36 overseas speakers from 13 countries such as the United States, Germany, Japan, and China, a Drone Industry Alliance general assembly, the 20th UAM Team Korea working council, a UAM Olympiad technology seminar, and the fourth briefing session for the Drone Special Free Zone competition. The Drone Industry Alliance general assembly is this year's second assembly, where 401 member companies as of July will share the progress of 19 detailed tasks across five divisions, and a business agreement ceremony for five project units solicited in June will also be pursued.
At the drone conference, participants will share development trends and future visions and outlooks for the global drone industry, strategies for entering global markets such as the United States, and changes in the policy, investment, and regulatory environment, while discussing growth strategies and international cooperation measures for domestic drone companies. In addition, in connection with the sixth K-UAM Confex jointly held by Incheon Metropolitan City, an international conference, business meetings, the Global UAM Regional Summit (GURS) general assembly, and global company pitching will also be run, supporting the sharing of UAM policy and technology trends, global industry cooperation, and the expansion of business networks.
Hong Ji-seon, Second Vice Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, said, "Drones and UAM are core technologies that are changing people's daily lives and opening new possibilities for future industries," adding, "We expect that at this expo, the public will be able to directly see and experience the excellent technological capabilities and application achievements of Korea's drone·UAM industry."
