Korean Air announced on the 18th that it will participate in the startup and tech fair “NextRise 2026,” held at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. The aim is to share the latest technology trends and explore mutually beneficial cooperation measures through exchanges with various venture and small and medium-sized enterprises.

NextRise is an event co-hosted by Korea Development Bank and the Korea International Trade Association, among others, and this year marks its 8th edition. It is a business-focused fair that goes beyond simple exhibition viewing to emphasize practical capital raising and open innovation between large corporations and startups. This year, around 500 domestic and overseas companies are expected to participate. The event will be held for two days, from the 18th to the 19th.

At this exhibition, Korean Air will showcase advanced strategic technologies that it says will lead the future aviation industry. The company stated that it has focused on three areas: intelligent air traffic management, which will be central to future urban air mobility; autonomous piloting, which underpins next-generation combat systems; and intelligent maintenance technologies including smart MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul). In the intelligent air traffic management segment, Korean Air will introduce its integrated control solution “ACROSS,” developed by leveraging its extensive air transport expertise. With ACROSS, which functions as a kind of traffic signal system for air routes, Korean Air aims to present a direction for aviation traffic systems capable of operating advanced air mobility (AAM). The company plans to contribute to the rapid commercialization and stabilization of the eco-friendly mobility ecosystem through this initiative.

In the autonomous piloting segment, Korean Air will present a next-generation combat system in which artificial intelligence (AI) independently makes decisions and commands the battlefield in an integrated manner. It will introduce a low-observable unmanned wingman aircraft and a subsonic unmanned target drone currently under development, and will, for the first time, publicly release a test-flight video of an AI unmanned aircraft being co-developed with U.S. defense company Anduril, thereby demonstrating proof-of-concept results for future battlefield solutions.

In addition, Korean Air will showcase a joint technology demonstration project with swarm drone specialist PABLO AIR, which applies AI technologies to the company’s unmanned aerial vehicle platform. Through this joint project, the companies plan to implement swarm flights and autonomous mission capabilities in which unmanned aircraft cooperate independently to complete missions.

In the intelligent maintenance area, Korean Air will showcase “smart MRO,” which uses robots and AI to transform the aircraft maintenance paradigm. Inspection drones and ground rovers precisely photograph the upper and lower exterior surfaces of the aircraft requiring maintenance, AI analyzes the images to detect even minute defects, and immediately notifies maintenance engineers—forming a defect detection process. This is expected not only to help prevent industrial accidents but also to reduce inspection time from the existing 10 hours to 1 hour. Korean Air is pursuing commercialization of these maintenance technologies jointly with global aircraft manufacturer Boeing. The booth will feature exhibits for visitors, including an LED tower displaying ACROSS control footage and actual equipment. A Korean Air keyring-making corner will also be set up so visitors can commemorate their visit to the exhibition. A consultation booth for startups will be operated as well.

A Korean Air official said, “At this NextRise 2026, Korean Air will broadly promote its advanced strategic aviation technologies and further solidify its cooperation and investment base with related institutions,” adding, “Based on continuous technology exchanges and mutually beneficial cooperation with domestic venture and small and medium-sized partner companies, Korean Air will continue to lead the digital transformation of the Republic of Korea’s aerospace industry.”

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