SEOUL, November 28 (AJP) - South Korea's Hanwha Aerospace said Friday it has signed a 705.4 billion won ($480 million) contract with the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) to mass-produce long-range surface-to-air missiles (L-SAM) by 2030.
The agreement covers the supply of anti-ballistic missiles (ABM) and launchers for the country’s upper-tier missile defense network.
The L-SAM system is designed to intercept ballistic missiles at altitudes above 40 kilometers and will operate alongside South Korea’s existing Cheongung II and Patriot batteries. The ABM interceptor is equipped with a domestically developed dual-pulse propulsion motor and a divert attitude control system (DACS), technologies possessed by only a handful of countries.
In November, Hanwha Systems won a separate 357.3 billion won contract from DAPA to produce the L-SAM multifunction radar (MFR), which detects and tracks incoming ballistic missiles and aircraft. The radar is capable of identifying multiple targets simultaneously.
Following the completion of the initial L-SAM development program last year, the Agency for Defense Development is working with Hanwha Aerospace and Hanwha Systems on L-SAM II, a next-generation system expected to expand air defense coverage.
* This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP.
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