The military authorities are pushing a project to upgrade the performance of the K2 tank, the Army's main battle tank. The core of this project is to strengthen its ability to counter self-destructing drones and anti-tank rockets.
The Defense Acquisition Program Administration said on the 11th that it convened the 177th Defense Project Promotion Committee at the Ministry of National Defense building in Seoul, chaired by Minister Ahn Gyu-baek, and reviewed and approved a basic strategy for the project.
A total of 3.448 trillion won will be invested in the K2 tank performance upgrade project from 2028 to 2046. The plan is to equip the K2 tank with an active protection system to intercept enemy anti-tank missiles and drones, a radio jamming device (jammer) to neutralize drones and improvised explosive devices, and a remote weapon station.
The military authorities plan to complete system development by 2032 and begin sequential force integration from 2033. The project has been set as an ultra-long-term effort spanning 18 years, interpreted as an intent to minimize gaps in available forces and security by upgrading K2 tanks deployed along the front in phases.
North Korea has recently accelerated improvements to its conventional forces, equipping the new main battle tank "Chonma-20" with an active protection system in events such as military parades.
At the committee meeting, a plan to domestically develop the Haeseong-II anti-ship guided missile was also approved. As the successor to the current Haeseong missile with a range of about 150 to 180 kilometers, the key is to roughly double the range to the mid-300-kilometer band.
A total of 1.63 trillion won will be invested in this project from 2028 to 2039. To increase thrust, it will proceed with adopting a turbofan engine instead of the existing turbojet. The plan is to complete system development by 2033 and begin mass production from 2034.
The anti-ship guided missile-II is expected to be mounted on the Korea Destroyer Next Generation (KDDX), for which the lead-ship construction contract was recently signed, and on the Aegis destroyer (KDX-III).