The KM-SAM (Korean Medium-range Surface-to-Air Missile; Skybolt; ), or simply M-SAM, is a South Korean medium range

surface-to-air missile A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground or the sea to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-ai ...

(SAM) system that was developed by the

Agency for Defense Development The Agency for Defense Development (ADD, ) is the South Korean government agency for research and development in defense technology, funded by the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA). It was established in August 1970 under the ban ...

(ADD) with technical support from

Almaz-Antey JSC Concern VKO "Almaz-Antey" () is a Russian state-owned company in the arms industry, a result of a merger of Antey Corporation and NPO Almaz, unifying some of the national military enterprises, in particular, the developers of anti-airc ...

and Fakel, based on technology from the 9M96 missile used on

S-350E The S-350 Vityaz () is a Russian medium-range surface-to-air missile system developed by GSKB Almaz-Antey. Its purpose is to replace the S-300PS. The system design traces its roots from the joint South Korean-Russian KM-SAM project and uses the ...

and

S-400 missile system The S-400 Triumf ( – Triumf; translation: Triumph; NATO reporting name: SA-21 Growler), previously known as the S-300 PMU-3, is a mobile surface-to-air missile (SAM) system developed in the 1990s by Russia's NPO Almaz as an upgrade to the S ...

s. The project was named Cheolmae-2 (Iron Hawk; ) during its development phase. M-SAM serves as a key system in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

Korean Air and Missile Defense The KAMD (Korean Air and Missile Defense; ) is a multilayered air defense system being developed by South Korea. It integrates command, detection, and interception systems to provide comprehensive protection. It consists of LAMD, M-SAM, L-SAM, et ...

(KAMD).

Design and development

A complete battery consists of four to six 8-cell

transporter erector launcher A transporter erector launcher (TEL) is a missile vehicle with an integrated tractor unit that can transport, elevate to a firing position and launch one or more rockets or missiles. History Such vehicles exist for both surface-to-air missiles ...

s (TELs), a

passive electronically scanned array A passive electronically scanned array (PESA), also known as passive phased array, is an antenna in which the beam of radio waves can be electronically steered to point in different directions (that is, a phased array antenna), in which all the ...

(PESA) multi-function

3D radar 3D radar provides for radar ranging and direction in three dimensions. In addition to range, the more common two-dimensional radar provides only azimuth for direction, whereas the 3D radar also provides elevation. Applications include weather rada ...

(based on the one from the Russian S-400), and a fire command vehicle. The radar operates in the

X-band The X band is the designation for a band of frequency, frequencies in the microwave radio region of the electromagnetic spectrum. In some cases, such as in communication engineering, the frequency range of the X band is set at approximately 7.0� ...

and rotates at a rate of 40

rpm Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines. One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...

, covering up to 80 degrees in elevation. It can detect targets within and track up to 40 simultaneously. The KM-SAM is the middle-tier of South Korea's three-tier aerial and missile defense system. Though it was developed in Russia by the Almaz Design Bureau in association with Samsung Thales,

LIG Nex1 LIG Nex1 Co., Ltd. (), formerly known as LG Innotek () is a South Korean aerospace manufacturer and arms manufacturer. It was established in 1976 as Goldstar Precision. LIG Nex1 was previously owned by LIG Holdings Company, which in turn was ow ...

, and Doosan DST, localization and industrialization were done in South Korea enough to consider it an indigenous system. South Korea has independent export rights under international intellectual property law and does not use Russian-made parts. Therefore, export is possible regardless of international sanctions against Russia. The KM-SAM can intercept targets up to an altitude of at a range of . It is to replace upgraded

MIM-23 Hawk The Raytheon MIM-23 HAWK ("Homing All the Way Killer") is an American medium-range surface-to-air missile. It was designed to be a much more mobile counterpart to the MIM-14 Nike Hercules, trading off range and altitude capability for a much sm ...

batteries in South Korea and be made available for export. Almaz-Antey continued with the program after prototypes were transferred and have created a distinctly Russian version called the

Vityaz missile system The S-350 Vityaz () is a Russian medium-range surface-to-air missile system developed by GSKB Almaz-Antey. Its purpose is to replace the S-300PS. The system design traces its roots from the joint South Korean-Russian KM-SAM project and uses the ...

.Cheongung – a New MR-SAM for the South Korean Multi-Tier Defense System
- Defense-Update.com, 17 December 2011 The

Republic of Korea Air Force The Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF; ), also known as the ROK Air Force or South Korean Air Force, is the Air force, aerial and Space force, space warfare service branch of South Korea, operating under the Ministry of National Defense (South K ...

(ROKAF) revealed in mid-2015 that the KM-SAM would soon enter mass production and begin delivery to the Air Force that September, replacing the Hawk missile that had been in Korean service since 1964, which the

United States military The United States Armed Forces are the Military, military forces of the United States. U.S. United States Code, federal law names six armed forces: the United States Army, Army, United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps, United States Navy, Na ...

retired in 2002. The system can intercept up to six targets simultaneously, and the missiles have anti- electronic warfare capabilities to keep functioning despite jamming.South Korea about to start deployment of new Cheongung M-SAM air defense missile system
- Armyrecognition.com, 3 August 2015 The system passed the military's operational requirement verification test in July 2015, and began deployment in early 2016 near the maritime border with North Korea in the

Yellow Sea The Yellow Sea, also known as the North Sea, is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean located between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula, and can be considered the northwestern part of the East China Sea. Names It is one of four ...

. On 28 April 2020, the

Defense Acquisition Program Administration The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA, ) is a central administrative agency of the South Korean Ministry of National Defense. It was founded on 1 January 2006 as part of a comprehensive reform of defense acquisition, including the ...

(DAPA) announced that deliveries of the Cheongung KM-SAM Block-1 system to the ROKAF had been completed. In July 2021, South Korea retired its last MIM-23 Hawk system, phasing it out for the Cheongung Block-1.

KM-SAM battery configuration

The configuration of KM-SAM batteries typically includes multifunction radar, vertical launchers, and control center vehicles. * Engagement Control Center (ECS): 1 * Multifunction Radar (MFR): 1 * Launchers: 4–6 * Missiles per Launcher: 8 * Power Generator: 1

Improvements

Block-II

In April 2017, South Korean military officials revealed that a low-tier missile defense system based on the Cheongung was in the final phase of development. Modifying the standard SAM with

hit-to-kill A kinetic energy weapon (also known as kinetic weapon, kinetic energy warhead, kinetic warhead, kinetic projectile, kinetic kill vehicle) is a projectile weapon based solely on a projectile's kinetic energy to inflict damage to a target, inst ...

technology enables it to intercept incoming ballistic missiles at mid altitudes of around . The first upgraded Cheongung-II system was delivered to the ROKAF in November 2020. The Block II interceptor is effective against both aircraft and ballistic targets. The KM-SAM will be able to be launched from the Korean Vertical Launch System (K-VLS) aboard

Daegu-class frigate The ''Daegu''-class frigate (Hangul: 대구급 호위함, Hanja: 大邱級護衛艦) is a class of guided missile frigates of the Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN). The ''Daegu'' class is based on the preceding , and has otherwise been referred to a ...

s in a naval role.

Block-III

The DAPA decided to develop KM-SAM Block III by investing 2.8 trillion won from 2024 to 2034. According to ''

Defense News ''Defense News'' is a website and newspaper about the politics, business, and technology of national security published by Sightline Media Group. Founded in 1986, ''Defense News'' says it serves an audience of senior military, government, and in ...

'', it will be equipped with an

active electronically scanned array An active electronically scanned array (AESA) is a type of phased array antenna, which is a computer-controlled antenna array in which the beam of radio waves can be electronically steered to point in different directions without moving the a ...

(AESA) radar.

Further development

The KM-SAM block-2 was to be an upper-tier interceptor designed to take down

ballistic missile A ballistic missile is a type of missile that uses projectile motion to deliver warheads on a target. These weapons are powered only during relatively brief periods—most of the flight is unpowered. Short-range ballistic missiles (SRBM) typic ...

s, offering capabilities similar to that of the American

Terminal High Altitude Area Defense Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), formerly Theater High Altitude Area Defense, is an American anti-ballistic missile defense system designed to intercept and destroy short-, medium-, and intermediate-range ballistic missiles in th ...

missile with a range of and ceiling of . Performance levels were to be twice as superior to the

Patriot A patriot is a person with the quality of patriotism. Patriot(s) or The Patriot(s) may also refer to: Political and military groups United States * Patriot (American Revolution), those who supported the cause of independence in the American R ...

and Cheolmae II missiles, and was expected to be based on the Russian S-400 technology. This role was filled by the development of the Long-range Surface-to-Air Missile (L-SAM).

Exports

participated in

International Defence Exhibition The International Defence Exhibition & Conference (IDEX) is a biennial arms and defence technology sales exhibition. The exhibition is the largest defence exhibition and conference in the Middle East and takes place in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emir ...

held in the

UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a federal elective monarchy made up of seven emirates, with Abu Dhabi serving as i ...

in 2021 and showed off the Korean weapon system including KM-SAM and

AT-1K Raybolt The AT-1K Raybolt ( "Hyeon-gung", Hanja: 晛弓) is a South Korean man-portable third-generation anti-tank guided missile built by LIG Nex1. It has fire-and-forget capability using an infrared imaging seeker and has a tandem-warhead to defeat ex ...

. On 16 November 2021, the UAE's Ministry of Defense

tweeted A tweet (officially known as a post since 2023) is a short status update on the social networking site Twitter (officially known as X since 2023) which can include images, videos, GIFs, straw polls, hashtags, mentions, and hyperlinks. Around ...

that it plans to acquire the M-SAM as a "qualitative addition" to its existing air defense capabilities and that the deal could reach US$3.5 billion. An official at South Korea's DAPA said that the announcement was "positive" but "we still need to see how negotiations on the details will proceed." On 16 January 2022, the DAPA of the

South Korean Government The government of South Korea () is the national government of the Republic of Korea, created by the Constitution of South Korea as the executive, legislative and judicial authority of the republic. The president acts as the head of state and ...

announced that the

would purchase the system in a deal worth $3.5 billion. At the time, it was the largest arms export deal ever made by South Korea. In 2022, the US requested South Korea to send this missile system to Ukraine during the Russian invasion. However South Korea declined on the basis of its security situation. In February 2024, the South Korean

Ministry of National Defense A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divide ...

announced that Saudi Arabia would purchase 10 KM-SAM Block II batteries, in a deal worth $3.2 billion. In September 2024, the Iraqi

Ministry of Defense A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divided ...

signed a deal with LIG Nex1 worth $2.8 billion, in order to acquire an unspecified number of KM-SAM Block II batteries.

Operators

Current operator

;

(19 batteries + 6 on order) :* Block I, 18 batteries in service, 4 launchers of 8 missiles per battery. :* Block II, 1 battery in service + 6 on order (total planned 7), 4 launchers of 8 missiles per battery.

Future operators

;

Iraqi Armed Forces The Iraqi Armed Forces are the military forces of the Iraq, Republic of Iraq. They consist of the Iraqi Army, Ground forces, the Iraqi Army Aviation Command, Army Aviation Command, the Iraqi Air Force, the Iraqi Air Defence Command, Air Defence ...

(unspecified number of batteries) : Block II, unspecified number of batteries ordered in September 2024 for USD $2.8 billion. ; Royal Saudi Air Defense Forces (10 batteries) : Block II, 10 batteries ordered in February 2024 for USD $3.2 billion. ;

United Arab Emirates Army The United Arab Emirates Army (UAEA) is the land force branch of the United Arab Emirates Armed Forces.The UAE Armed Forces were officially formed in 1976, unifying the military forces of the individual emirates under a single command. History ...

(12 batteries) : Block II, 12 batteries ordered in January 2023, to be produced partially in the UAE, worth USD $3.5 billion.

References

External links

official site
{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 Surface-to-air missiles of South Korea Anti-ballistic missiles of South Korea 21st-century surface-to-air missiles Post–Cold War weapons of South Korea Missile defense ADD research and development projects Almaz-Antey products Republic of Korea Air Force