There’s a relatively new player making serious moves in the global drone industry, and it’s based in South Korea. That would be PABLO AIR, and it’s mastering the technology that most companies are still trying to figure out: drone swarms.
PABLO AIR was founded in 2018 and is headquartered in Incheon, South Korea, though it has a U.S. office in Torrance, California. Its entire business empire is centered around proprietary swarm coordination technology. But unlike many drone companies that specialize in just one niche, PABLO AIR is using its swarm drone tech to tackle multiple markets at once — from spectacular drone light shows to military applications, drone delivery and even urban air traffic management.
It’s definitely a company that I’ve had my eyes on for the last few years — and it’s finally time I do a deep dive into this company — as it’s only growing.
The swarm tech that started it all
PABLO AIR builds a proprietary Swarm Control Platform, which allows multiple drones to communicate even across different communication protocols, yet all under one system to share their information.
That Swarm Control Platform has become the foundation for everything PABLO AIR does. It’s what allows them to fly over 1,000 drones simultaneously in light shows. It’s what enables their delivery drones to navigate complex urban environments. And it’s what makes their military solutions particularly effective in modern warfare scenarios.
Related read: South Korean drone companies: the biggest, best names to know
Drone light shows and the PabloX F40
But they don’t just make the Swarm Control Platform. They also make the actual drones. My personal favorite is their flagship drone, the PabloX F40. It’s among the few globally to feature dual LED lighting and pyrotechnic capabilities, which is just a fancy way of saying that these light show drones can also shoot fireworks.
In April 2024, PABLO AIR set a Guinness World Record with 1,068 pyro drones flying simultaneously. That’s not their first rodeo with record-breaking either. Back in 2020, they set a Guinness World Record with a 303-drone pyro show at the Kia Motors logo unveiling event. Then in 2022, they did it again with 511 pyro drones.
The PabloX F40 recently won the iF Design Award 2025, adding international design recognition to its technical credentials. The drone received FAA flight approval in the U.S. for the firework drone series in August 2024, opening up the lucrative American market for PABLO AIR’s entertainment division.
Making delivery drones too
PABLO AIR makes delivery drones too. Its proprietary delivery drones can fly as far as 140 km (about 87 miles) with a payload capacity of up to 2kg (4.4 pounds).
The company was among the first participants in Korea’s Drone Delivery Center and has partnered and developed with NASA and the Bluemon Group to demonstrate their capabilities internationally. In July 2022, PABLO AIR launched the first convenience store drone delivery station in South Korea, partnering with 7-Eleven in the resort town of Gapyeong. In taking app orders, preparing products and actually completing the deliveries, that made 7-Eleven and PABLO AIR the first companies in Korea to provide complete A-to-Z services.
In 2023, German drone market research company DroneII ranked PABLO AIR first in Asia and ninth in the world in the global ranking of drone delivery services — pretty impressive for a company that started just five years earlier.
Of course a key component in completing drone deliveries is being able to fly beyond visual line of sight. That’s a hot topic worldwide, but especially in the U.S., as the U.S. just released its proposed BVLOS drone rule in August 2025. That proposed rule was informed by years of testing with the Federal Aviation Administration’s test sites. And one of those test sites is the New York UAS Test Site at Griffiss International Airport, Rome, NY which, perhaps not coincidentally, PABLO AIR has played a key role.
In early 2022, Pablo teamed up with with NUAIR (Northeast UAS Airspace Integration Research Alliance) and set up PABLO AIR’s integrated control system at Griffiss International Airport in New York to conduct both visual line of sight (VLOS) and beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) delivery demonstrations.
Beyond delivery, PABLO AIR has developed UrbanLinkX, an unmanned aircraft system traffic management (UATM) platform that won a CES 2024 Innovation Award — something else key to enabling deliveries (and other applications too, of course). The UrbanLinkX system optimizes logistics by monitoring and controlling unmanned systems in smart cities while collecting real-time environmental and security data.
Pivoting to defense: a logical evolution
Here’s where things get serious. PABLO AIR’s swarm technology has natural applications in the defense sector.
The company focuses on enhancing synergy between drones and personnel through swarm UAVs, data collection, and integrated terminals. In September 2023, PABLO AIR was selected as a participant in the “100 Innovative Companies in Defense” program by Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration for the drone sector.
Then in December 2024, PABLO AIR signed an R&D agreement under the same “100 Innovative Companies in Defense” program specifically for the development of a Swarm Drone Combat System.
Their flagship military product is the PabloM S10s, a tactical loitering munition (that’s military speak for a reconnaissance and strike drone). The S10s is a modular combat drone platform capable of performing reconnaissance and strike missions simultaneously. With a maximum speed of 150 km/h (about 93 mph), operational radius of 38 km (about 24 miles), and the ability to carry various sensor and warhead modules, it’s designed for modern battlefield operations.
Multiple S10s units can perform salvo attacks, with simultaneous or sequential strikes from different angles. The entire system leverages PABLO AIR’s swarm coordination technology, allowing AI-based flight control and mission-path optimization. That’s the same underlying technology that allows applying to a very different use case.
Why I’ll be watching PABLO AIR in 2026
The global drone industry is increasingly divided into specialists and generalists. Most companies pick a lane and stay there. DJI dominates consumer camera drones. Sky Elements and other companies focus exclusively on drone light shows. Defense contractors build military drones. Delivery companies work on logistics.
PABLO AIR is trying to do it all, and their swarm technology is the common thread.
Is this strategy sustainable? The drone market in 2025 is consolidating, with companies either doubling down on niches or getting acquired. But it looks to me like the fastest-growing drone companies are those focusing on military, ISR (intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance) and critical infrastructure applications.
PABLO AIR’s story is particularly interesting given the current geopolitical climate around drones. While U.S. lawmakers continue debating whether to ban Chinese drone makers like DJI, there’s growing interest in alternatives from allied nations. South Korean drone technology offers one potential answer to that equation.
The company’s U.S. presence in Torrance, California, positions them well to capture American market share, particularly in defense applications where “trusted” suppliers from allied nations are increasingly preferred.
PABLO AIR seems to have hedged their bets well. They’ve got the entertainment business for brand visibility and commercial revenue. They’ve got delivery and urban air mobility partnerships for the logistics future. And they’ve earned defense projects for the sector that’s seeing the most investment right now.
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