South Korea continues to advance its indigenous air-launched weapons capabilities, launching development of a new short-range air-to-air missile and signing a production contract for anti-tank munitions.
The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) held a meeting on 2 December to formally begin work on a short-range air-to-air missile for the Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) KF-21 under the Short-Range Air-to-Air Missile II (SRAAM-II) programme. The system development phase is valued at KRW436 billion ($296 million), with LIG Nex1 and Hanwha Aerospace leading work from 2025 to 2032.
Research for SRAAM-II has been underway for several years. In late 2024, DAPA earmarked KRW662 billion for the overall programme in its mid‑term defence plan, with the newly launched system development phase representing the first major funded step.
The missile is also expected to form part of the KF‑21’s export offering. Seoul has also budgeted for a long-range air-to-air missile and is conducting a feasibility study into a supersonic anti‑ship missile.
Prior to the arrival of indigenious air-to-air weapons, the KF-21’s short-range missile will be the Diehl IRIS-T and its long-range missile the MBDA Meteor.
Separately, Hanwha Aerospace says it has received a KRW225 billion production contract from DAPA for Cheongnam air‑to‑ground missiles, with deliveries to be completed by 2028.
The award follows a KRW162 billion production contract in 2024.
Cheongnam, also known as “TAipers” (tank snipers), replaces the US‑made BGM‑71 TOW and will arm the Light Armed Helicopter (LAH). The missile has a dual‑mode seeker and supports both fire‑and‑forget and fire‑and‑update employment.
Hanwha also expects it to equip the attack variant of the KAI KUH‑1 Surion now being developed for the Republic of Korea Marine Corps.
Development of Cheongnam was completed in 2022.
