North Gyeongsang Province said on the 4th it held a completion ceremony for LIG Nex1's ship-to-air guided missile-II assembly and inspection facility.
About 100 people attended the ceremony held that day at Gumi House 2, including Deputy Governor for Economic Affairs Yang Geum-hee of North Gyeongsang Province, Kim Jang-ho, mayor of Gumi, and Shin Ik-hyun, CEO of LIG Nex1, as well as officials from the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, the Navy, the Agency for Defense Development (ADD), the Defense Agency for Technology and Quality (DTaQ), provincial and city council members, and partner companies.
LIG Nex1's ship-to-air guided missile-II assembly and inspection facility is the result of the final execution of a 110 billion won investment agreement signed in 2022. The province said it is significant in that, following the completion of the CIWS-II mass production facility last year, it has completed the production base for air-defense guided weapons.
The ship-to-air guided missile-II is a core weapons systems for shipborne air defense to be installed on the Korea Destroyer Next Generation (KDDX). It serves to ensure the survivability of friendly ships against aerial threats such as enemy aircraft and cruise guided missiles.
In particular, the system was developed to enable integrated operation with domestically produced radar and combat systems, and is evaluated as reducing dependence on foreign products and strengthening the self-reliant foundation of ship air-defense capability.
The province said the completion of this assembly and inspection facility has established a production base that can respond stably not only during the system development phase but also to future mass production volumes.
LIG Nex1 expanded the Gumi plant into a core defense production base through back-to-back investments totaling 310 billion won in 2022 and 2024. This year, it announced plans for an additional 370 billion won investment and the creation of 200 new jobs, continuing to expand investment. Accordingly, alongside expansions of the existing Gumi Plants 1 and 2, the company is pushing to expand production capacity and strengthen capabilities to produce advanced weapons systems such as guided weapons.
Deputy Governor for Economic Affairs Yang Geum-hee said, "This is a meaningful achievement that elevates self-reliant defense capabilities by a notch," adding, "North Gyeongsang Province will spare no administrative and financial support so corporations can focus on research and development and production, and will do its best to advance the defense industry ecosystem."