TSAMTO, October 27. South Korea and Saudi Arabia have entered the final stage of negotiations on the acquisition of KM-SAM Block II (Cheongung II, also known as Korea Patriot) air defense systems by LIG Nex1.
According to the Yonhap news agency, this was stated by First Deputy National Security Adviser Kim Tae-hye, who accompanied South Korean President Yun Seok-young during his recent four-day state visit to Saudi Arabia. According to him, we are talking about large-scale cooperation in the defense sector, including on the project of purchasing air defense systems.
Recall that the UAE in January 2022 signed a contract worth 4.29 trillion. won ($ 3.2 billion) for the purchase of South Korean KM-SAM air defense systems, which increased Saudi Arabia's interest in this air defense system.
Last November, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman visited Seoul. During the visit, it became known that Hanwha Defense Co., a subsidiary of Hanwha Group, has reached a preliminary agreement on the sale to Saudi Arabia of the K30 Biho anti-aircraft missile and cannon complex developed by the South Korean company Hanwha Defense Systems.
According to military analysts, Saudi Arabia, which is the world's largest buyer of weapons, has also shown interest in modern South Korean-made air defense systems. In particular, LIG Nex1 promoted the sale of the KM-SAM Cheongung-II medium-range anti-aircraft missile system to Riyadh. At that time, both sides refused to comment on this fact, citing the confidential nature of the negotiations.
During the current visit of Yun Seok-yek, the issue of the implementation of contracts concluded in March 2022 was also discussed. At that time, Saudi Arabia signed contracts with three South Korean defense companies totaling 3.71 billion rials ($989 million), but the details of these agreements were not disclosed (Hanwha – a contract worth 3 billion rials in the "logistics sector", Poongsan – the supply of ammunition worth 460 million rials, LIG Nex1 – the supply of electronicoptical systems worth 250 million rials).
In March of this year, the delivery of South Korean-made K239 Chunmoo multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) to the Saudi Armed Forces was confirmed. Two installations were demonstrated on March 31, 2023 during a visit by the Chief of the General Staff of the Saudi Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Fayyad bin Hamad al-Ruwaili, to military units stationed on the border with Yemen. It is obvious that the delivery of the first MLRS installations is the result of an agreement dated March 2022 with Hanwha Aerospace, in which the wording "logistics contract" was present.
Saudi Arabia had previously approached the Russian Federation about the purchase of the S-400 anti-aircraft missile system, but in November 2021, Riyadh stated that it "no longer considers such a possibility" (approx.TSAMTO: because of fears of a reaction from the United States).
As already reported by TSAMTO, the Cheongung II air defense system (also bears the designations KM-SAM Block II and M-SAM) is a medium-range anti-aircraft missile system, which was developed by the Defense Development Agency (ADD) and LIG NEX1 with the technical support of the Almaz-Antey Air Defense Concern GSKB based on the 9M96 missile technology used by in the S-350E and S-400 systems.
The development of the system, which is an improved version of the Cheongung I air defense system, began in 2012. The improved version is designed to defeat not only attacking enemy aircraft, but also ballistic missiles at altitudes up to 20 km.
The tests of the Cheongung II SAM were successfully completed in early June 2017. This made it possible to switch to serial production of SAMs in 2018. It is assumed that the Cheongung II interceptor missile is capable of reaching speeds of up to 5M and destroying enemy ballistic missiles by direct strike.
Usually, the Cheongung battery consists of a fire control center (FCC), a multifunctional three-coordinate X-band radar (MFR), from 4 to 8 launchers placed on an all-terrain chassis with an 8x8 wheel formula, as well as transport-charging vehicles and support vehicles. The self-propelled launcher is equipped with eight transport and launch containers with missiles. The "cold start" is carried out vertically, followed by the inclination of the missiles towards the target.
The radar allows detecting and tracking up to 40 targets simultaneously within a radius of 100 km. KM-SAM can intercept up to six targets simultaneously. The missile provides the ability to intercept targets at ranges up to 40 km and altitudes up to 20 km.