On the 20th, local time, at the Farnborough International Airshow (FIA) 2026 exhibition grounds about 50 kilometers from central London, England. Crowds gathered in front of a gray aircraft that looked as if the rotor of a helicopter and the wing of a conventional airplane had been attached to a single fuselage. Delegations from various countries in military uniforms slowly circled the aircraft taking photos, and reporters alternated between checking the exhibit placard and the fuselage.
The aircraft that drew people's attention was the "Thunder," an attack drone unveiled that day for the first time by U.S. defense contractor Anduril and electric aircraft maker Archer Aviation. It is designed to take off vertically without a runway and then tilt its rotors forward to fly. Although it was a full-scale mock-up rather than a complete aircraft capable of actual flight, military officials kept stopping by because of the concept of deploying it into dangerous areas ahead of a manned attack helicopter.
A few steps away from Thunder, other drones, counter-drone systems, low-cost air defense missiles, and mock-ups of reconnaissance satellites appeared in succession. In the aisles between halls displaying commercial aircraft engines and cabin mock-ups, representatives from aerospace corporations in suits and delegations from various countries came and went, and inside defense contractors' booths, people continued consultations with business cards and materials spread out.
The Farnborough Airshow is considered one of the world's top three aerospace exhibitions along with the Paris and Singapore airshows. This year, 1,636 corporations and institutions from around the world took part, making it the largest in its 78-year history, and the venue covered 500,000 square meters, an area equivalent to 78 soccer fields.
A walk around the venue showed that this year's Farnborough Airshow's defining traits were more evident in the exhibits than in the number of participants. Beyond performance contests for large passenger jets and fighter jets, unmanning and artificial intelligence (AI), defenses against low-cost mass attacks, and hyperconnected operations using satellites were emerging as new competitive arenas for the future aerospace industry.
◇ Even amid a 7.2 trillion won commercial aircraft order race… what drew eyes was "future war"
Commercial aircraft were at the center of opening day. Boeing and Airbus secured large orders from aircraft leasing companies and airlines. The Aerospace, Defense, Security and Space industries group (ADS) estimated that commercial aircraft contracts announced on opening day reached 36.2 billion pounds (about 7.2 trillion won). Confirmed aircraft orders totaled 234, up 44% from Farnborough's opening day in 2024.
ADS Chief Executive Kevin Craven said, "The first-day order tally is a clear signal that confidence in the global aerospace industry remains high," and added, "Airlines continue to invest in aircraft and technology that will determine the future of flight."
On the show floor, defense firms' presence was as prominent as the order battles of major manufacturers. Reuters reported that about half of all participants this year were defense corporations. Considering that the Farnborough Airshow began in 1948 as an event to showcase the British aviation industry, that is an unusually high proportion.
This is seen as the result of cheap attack drones being deployed in large numbers in Ukraine and the Middle East, shifting the focus of air defense technology. Beyond the question of downing a single enemy aircraft with one high-performance missile, the new task has become how cheaply and quickly to stop swarms of low-cost drones arriving by the tens or hundreds at once.
◇ An "unmanned wingman" carrying 10 missiles… drone swarms blocked with electromagnetic waves
Anduril is developing Thunder not as a replacement for manned attack helicopters like the Apache, but as an "unmanned wingman" that enters dangerous areas ahead of manned aircraft. Attack helicopters flying at low altitude are easily exposed to man-portable air defense missiles, anti-aircraft guns, and drone attacks. Thus, Thunder first infiltrates enemy lines to conduct reconnaissance or strike air defenses, and protects manned helicopters from hostile drones. Anduril proposed operating one Apache together with three to six Thunders.
Its internal bays can be configured with different armaments by mission. Anduril presented loadouts of up to 10 air-to-surface missiles, 16 small drones, or 76 70-millimeter rockets. Up to 12 separate counter-drone interceptors can be mounted in the nose. Flight control is handled by Anduril's autonomous operations software, and Thunder is targeting its first flight in 2027.
Also eye-catching were technologies to cheaply defeat massed incoming drones. Lockheed Martin's "MORFIUS X-Rotor" is a counter-drone system in which an unmanned aircraft launched from the ground uses high-power microwaves in the air to neutralize multiple drones. The principle is that a strong electromagnetic field induces abnormal currents in a drone's internal circuits, disabling its systems.
Lockheed Martin added, "A single MORFIUS can neutralize more than 50 drones in one flight," and "the air vehicle can be recovered and reused after the mission and does not depend on a specific fire-control radar."
◇ The new rule of the battlefield: manned-unmanned teaming
A representative from Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) whom we met in front of the Korea pavilion cited "manned-unmanned teaming," which operates manned and unmanned aircraft together, as one of the themes to watch at this airshow. In this concept, a manned fighter leads operations while multiple unmanned aircraft handle reconnaissance and surveillance, electronic warfare, and strikes.
The representative said, "For aircraft and fighters, the ability to carry out missions is important, but there must be no loss of life," and added, "KAI is also currently developing unmanned aircraft and conducting test flights."
At this exhibition, KAI unveiled a next-generation air combat system concept linking the KF-21 fighter with unmanned combat aircraft, multipurpose drones, and ultra-small synthetic aperture radar (SAR) communications satellites.
Despite differences in size and mission, most of the unmanned aircraft on display looked similar in appearance. To reduce radar cross-section and aerodynamic drag, they connected the wings and fuselage as if they were a single body or reduced the tail surfaces.
A KAI representative explained, "Because the engineering requirements are similar, the shapes can't help but resemble one another," and added, "Going forward, manned aircraft will run operations and unmanned aircraft will assist, improving operational efficiency and safety."
◇ After aviation and defense, space is also becoming "security infrastructure"
Alongside defense, another field that expanded its presence at this year's Farnborough Airshow was space. As the trend spreads to consolidation fighters, drones, and even satellites into a single operational network, space technology is emerging as a core foundation of future air warfare. The organizers also set up a separate Space Zone to gather exhibitions by satellite and space infrastructure corporations and institutions, and are holding dedicated sessions over the five days of the event.
Entering the Space Zone, mock-ups of satellites and a space station caught the eye instead of aircraft models. Booths featured corporations and institutions showcasing spacecraft component test equipment, Earth observation, and satellite communication technologies. On one stage, discussions continued on the research environment after the retirement of the International Space Station (ISS) and the security applications of space technology.
What space agency heads emphasized in that day's sessions was that the boundary between commercial space and defense space is rapidly blurring. U.K. Space Agency chief Rebecca Evernden said, "We can no longer talk about commercial space and defense space separately. We must see space as one," adding, "Most space technologies are dual-use technologies applied in both civil and defense fields."
European Space Agency (ESA) Director General Josef Aschbacher noted the trend of European countries expanding national space capabilities for reasons of security and sovereignty. He emphasized, "If it is difficult to integrate each country's systems into one, then at minimum we must be able to exchange information and operate together."