Korea Overseas Information Service, Korea will spend 498.5 billion won ($500 million) to develop new surface-to-air missile systems over the next five years, the country's defense procurement agency said Wednesday, Sept. 27.
The project, code-named M-SAM, is aimed at replacing the aging medium-high altitude Hawk missile systems. The new guided missile will be designed to fly as far as 40 kilometers at an altitude of 15 kilometers, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Agency (DAPA).
Participants in the project are 16 domestic defense firms, including Samsung Thales, Hanhwa and Nex1Future and six state-run research institutes.
“The number of missile systems to be deployed will be determined only after the system is developed,” said Air Force Col. Nam Ung-woo, chief of the guided missile project at the DAPA.
Missile Defense Command to Be Created
South Korea will launch an Army missile defense command as part of its efforts to counter threats from North Korea's missiles and long-range artillery, the Army said on Wednesday (Sept. 27).
