S. Korea to acquire new missiles for Aegis destroyer

By Lee Joon-seung
SEOUL, June 28 (Yonhap) -- South Korea plans to acquire 40 new surface-to-air
missiles within the month for its Aegis destroyer, a military source said Sunday.
The government source, who declined to be identified, said all of the U.S.-made
Standard Missile-2s (SM-2) will be loaded on to the 7,600-ton King Sejong the
Great destroyer.
The 166-meter-long ship, equipped with a phased array SPY-1D radar, can track up
to a thousand targets simultaneously at a range of 500km and intercept threats
from up to 150 km away. It has been used to detect long-range ballistic missiles
fired by North Korea that were 1,000 km away.
The destroyer is currently the largest surface combat vessel in the South Korean
Navy and can carry up to 80 SM-2s in vertical launch systems. It is also armed
with locally made anti-ship missiles, a 127mm cannon, 30mm Goalkeeper
close-in-weapons systems and lightweight, rolling airframe missiles.
The 40 SM-2s, which will arrive by the end of June, are extended-range models and
can hit targets up to 160km away. They will allow the South Korean ship to fully
use its advanced detection, tracking and attack capabilities, the source said.
The missiles are the main anti-aircraft munitions used by the U.S. Navy and have
evolved over the years to deal with threats coming from various altitudes and
those equipped with advanced electronic counter measures. They may also be used
against ballistic missiles.
Related to the missile purchase, the U.S. government in May notified lawmakers
that it has authorized the sale of 46 SM-2 Block IIIA and 35 Block IIIB missiles
to South Korea under the foreign military sales arrangement.
The military source said that Seoul is looking to acquire next-generation
Extended Range Active Missiles, also known as the SM-6 system, from Washington
along with Patriot-3 (PAC-3) missiles by 2014. The PAC-3s can be deployed at sea
and are designed to intercept ballistic missiles.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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