South Korea completes deliveries of KM-SAM Block-1 system to RoKAF

South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) announced on 28 April that deliveries of the Cheongung Korean medium-range surface-to-air missile (KM-SAM or M-SAM) Block-1 system to the Republic of Korea Air Force (RoKAF) have been completed.

In a statement DAPA said the final units of the self-propelled system, which has a stated maximum range of 40 km and – along with the Block-2 variant – is intended to replace the RoKAF’s MIM-23 HAWK (locally known as Cheolmae) SAM systems, were handed over in April.

The Cheongung Block-1, which was first was deployed with the RoKAF’s Air Defense Missile Command in 2015 in an anti-aircraft role, is armed with eight SAMs per launcher.

The 4.6 m-long, cold-launched missiles – each of which costs an estimated KRW1.5 billion (USD1.2 million) – are capable of reaching a top speed of Mach 4.5 and an altitude of between 15 and 20 km.

A Cheongung SAM battery typically consists of a command-and-control centre, a multifunction radar, and four transporter-erector-launchers – all of which are mounted on separate 8×8 trucks. Development of the system was completed in 2011, with production of the Block-1 missiles beginning in 2013.

In June 2017 South Korea announced the beginning of mass-production of the Cheongung Block-2 variant to better counter North Korea's growing missile threats. The Block-2, deliveries of which are ongoing, is a hit-to-kill (HTK) missile interceptor designed to engage incoming ballistic missile targets at an altitude of about 20 km.