IAMSEC 2026 runs Tuesday and Wednesday at the Daejeon Convention Center, focusing on M&S as a driver of advanced defense technology and scientific training systems
Daejeon city and the Republic of Korea Army are jointly hosting the International Army Modeling & Simulation Exhibition and Conference (IAMSEC 2026) at the Daejeon Convention Center on Tuesday and Wednesday to share perspectives on the future direction of defense technology development.
The event is organized around the theme "M&S as the Core of Advanced Science and Technology-Based Force Enhancement and Scientific Training Systems," and will bring together military officials, domestic and international defense industry companies, research institutions and academic experts.
The opening ceremony on Tuesday will be attended by Army Chief of Staff Kim Gyu-ha, Daejeon Deputy Mayor Park Yeon-byeong, Agency for Defense Development Acting Director Ko Deok-gon, National Assembly lawmaker Jang Cheol-min, and approximately 300 officials from the military, industry, academia and research sectors.
The keynote sessions that follow will feature Kwangwoon University President Yun Do-young, Naver Cloud CEO Kim Yu-won and Anduril Korea CEO John Kim, addressing the future direction of defense technology across three themes: the convergence of advanced security with AI and information and communications technology; AI's transformation of the future battlefield and defense AI transformation; and software-defined defense and next-generation defense M&S.
Throughout the two-day event, a range of academic programs will run, including an international M&S seminar, an Army IT innovation conference, an M&S tutorial, a defense intellectual property development seminar and research paper presentations. An exhibition featuring 59 organizations and companies in advanced technology fields — AI and big data, robots and drones, and weapons systems — will also showcase the latest technologies.
"As AI and advanced science and technology rapidly reshape the future battlefield environment, the importance of defense modeling and simulation and AI technology is growing ever greater," Deputy Mayor Park said. "Daejeon will also push ahead with building a defense AI transformation cluster — a campaign pledge of the ninth directly elected administration — to lead the paradigm shift toward an AI- and unmanned-systems-centered future defense."
Modeling and simulation, or M&S, virtually replicates real battlefield environments and weapons systems, using simulated experiments to analyze and verify the effectiveness of operations, tactics and weapons systems. Daejeon has supported the International Army M&S Conference and Exhibition since 2009, contributing to the advancement of the defense industry and the promotion of civilian-military technology exchange.
kwonhl@heraldcorp.com
