Korean Air Unveils AI-Enabled UAVs, Signs AAM MOUs at DSK 2026

Korean Air used a two-story booth at Drone Show Korea 2026 in Busan to put a stake in the ground for AI-enabled unmanned systems and advanced air mobility. The company unveiled a domestically debuted AI-powered subsonic UAV developed in collaboration with Anduril Industries, displayed alongside AI-powered multi-purpose drones and small loitering munitions, and announced a formal partnership to integrate vertiport automation with its traffic-management software.

The exhibit was organized into a Drone Zone and an AAM Zone. In the Drone Zone Korean Air displayed an AI-powered subsonic unmanned aircraft labeled by one report as “Physical AI,” an AI-powered multi-purpose drone, communication relay drones, and small strike drones described alternately as loitering munitions. Aerocrewnews’s image caption identified the lineup order as, from bottom, the multi-purpose drone, the subsonic UAV, and the loitering munition.

In the AAM Zone Korean Air put the spotlight on ACROSS, its Air Control and Routing Orchestrated Skyway System, and a mockup of an Archer Aviation eVTOL. Korean Air hosted a joint AAM seminar with Archer on February 26 and has an existing development cooperation memorandum with Archer from last year. At DSK Korean Air also signed an MoU with Skyports Infrastructure to collaborate on vertiport design, future management of UAM services, and to analyze air traffic management by integrating Skyports’ Vertiport Automation System with ACROSS.

Korean Air framed the presence as both a product showcase and a business development effort across the three-day expo. The company ran technology seminars on February 25 to present its UAV capabilities and roadmap, then followed with the Archer joint seminar and multiple MOU signing activities on February 26. A Korean Air representative said, “Drone Show Korea provides an important opportunity to demonstrate Korean Air’s expanding capabilities in AI-driven software and next-generation aerospace technologies.” The same representative added, “We remain committed to evolving into a world-class comprehensive aerospace company by continuously pushing the boundaries of aviation innovation.”

DSK 2026 ran February 25–27 at the Busan Exhibition and Convention Center and attracted more than 300 companies and organizations from 23 countries. The broader show programmed drone light shows at Gwangalli Beach and Ttukseom Hangang Park and emphasized defense, commercial drone systems, and urban air mobility demonstrations across the floor.

For the drone racing community the concrete items to watch are the swarm-based MRO concepts and communication relay drones on display. Korean Air described aircraft MRO capabilities enabled by drone swarm technologies, and those systems could change how teams handle pit-style maintenance and in-field repairs at larger race venues. With ACROSS and Skyports’ VAS now slated for integration, Korean Air is positioning operational control and vertiport management as a packaged solution for next-generation airspace users.