The military authorities will develop the short-range air-to-air guided missile II to be mounted on the Korean-style fighter KF-21.
The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said on the 2nd that it held a kickoff meeting for the short-range air-to-air guided missile II research and development project at the Agency for Defense Development (ADD) in Daejeon. At the meeting, DAPA, ADD, and the Air Force agreed on the importance of independently developing Korea's first air-to-air weapon. They also signed a business agreement to localize and advance aviation guided weapons systems.
The goal of this project is to diversify aerial armaments along with the long-range air-to-ground guided missile under development since 2018 and the long-range air-to-air guided missile set to begin development next year. DAPA expects that strengthening aerial armaments will also bring positive effects to the development of domestic weapons systems and defense exports.
From this year through 2032, a total of 435.9 billion won will be invested in the project, with DAPA overseeing development and ADD handling initial design and research. Hanwha Aerospace, LIG Nex1, and Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) will be responsible for system development.
Jeong Gyu-heon, head of DAPA's Future Capability Projects Office, said, "Developing a short-range air-to-air guided missile means that, following domestically produced fighters, various aerial armaments are being developed independently in Korea," and emphasized, "It will be an important leap forward in the development of domestic aviation weapons systems and in pioneering defense markets."