LIG Nex1 said on the 24th that it signed a contract with the Agency for Defense Development (ADD) for the "short-range air-to-air missile II system integration and missile integration prototypes" project.

At Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang, technicians mount AIM-2000 short-range air-to-air missiles on a KF-21 prototype during the defense reporters' invitation visit by the Defense Acquisition Program Administration chief to review national agenda outcomes and communicate on-site. /Courtesy of News1

The short-range air-to-air missile project is to develop, with domestic technology, a short-range air-to-air missile to be mounted on the Korean fighter KF-21. The project aggregates amount to 207 billion won.

LIG Nex1 plans, under this contract, to develop by 2032 the missile's key components—including system integration, an infrared imaging seeker, a guidance and control unit, an inertial navigation unit, an actuation unit, and a target detection unit.

Once the short-range air-to-air missile development is completed, the KF-21 will carry an indigenous short-range air-to-air missile in addition to a long-range air-to-ground missile. It means the aircraft will be armed with air-to-ground and air-to-air weapons developed purely with domestic technology.

Shin Ik-hyun, CEO of LIG Nex1, said, "Through close cooperation with the Agency for Defense Development (ADD), the lead agency for the project, as well as related institutions and corporations, we plan to mobilize our companywide capabilities to successfully complete development of the short-range air-to-air missile II."

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