South Korea Completes Missile Development With A Shooting Range Of 60 Kilometers

UNSPLASH/Felipe Simo ILLUSTRATION

JAKARTA - South Korea has completed the development of a Surface-to-Udara Missile System (L-SAM) designed to shoot down targets arriving at an altitude of 50-60 kilometers.

The statement was made by the state arms procurement agency on Saturday marking a major step in efforts to enhance military air defense capabilities.

The Administration of the Defense Acquisition Program (DAPA) assesses that L-SAM is suitable for combat because it meets military technical requirements.

Reported by ANTARA from Yonhap, Saturday, May 25, with the completion of its development, L-SAM is expected to start production next year and start operating in 2028.

Once deployed, the L-SAM is predicted to be able to play an important role in the country's multi-layer missile shield, the so-called Korean Air Defense and Missiles.

The South Korean military currently operates a domestically-made Medium-Range Surface-to-Air Missile system and the US Patriot Advanced Capability-3 system to intercept incoming missiles at lower altitudes than L-SAM.

So far, South Korea has relied on the US Troops' high-altitude defense terminal system in Korea for targets at higher altitudes. The system can withstand high-level threats at an altitude of 40-150 km.

The military is currently also developing a Block-II version of the L-SAM designed to intercept targets at higher altitudes than those already owned by the country.