The Korean Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) has announced new plans to create a national equivalent of the Israeli "Iron Dome" system, known as LAMD - Low-altitude Missile Defense.
Now, the year of system readiness has been set for 2028, with a budget announced at 479.8 billion Korean won, which is approximately 330 million US dollars. Previously, there were mentions that the total project cost would be around 2.9 trillion won - about 2 billion dollars.
It is worth noting that the LAMD concept from LIG Nex1 was showcased in 2021, indicating that its development has been ongoing for quite some time. However, this complex is one of the rare examples where development timelines are moving left, meaning they are being accelerated.
Initially, the deployment of LAMD was planned for 2031-2035, but in October 2024, it was shifted to 2029-2033. The acceleration in development has occurred in light of security risks posed by North Korea.
Overall, LAMD is intended for intercepting North Korean rockets. During the concept demonstration, LIG Nex1 mentioned an operational range of up to 7 km and an altitude of up to 5 km. However, these parameters may change during the development and refinement of the missile system. At the same time, one of the main parameters for systems like the "Iron Dome," besides high reliability, maneuverability, and channeling, is the low cost of the missile itself.
Additionally, recently, the Korean DAPA announced the approval of the plan to complete the development and begin production of the new surface-to-air missile system L-SAM, which has a range of up to 200 km and can intercept ballistic missiles.
According to the plan, the production of the first batch of these missile systems, with no specific quantity mentioned, is set to occur by 2030 and will cost 1.73 trillion Korean won - 1.2 billion dollars. The deployment of the first L-SAM complex is scheduled for 2027.
The development of L-SAM began back in 2019, and by 2022, it had undergone its initial tests. This system is currently intended to be the highest level of missile defense for Korea, while LAMD will serve as the lowest level. The KM-SAM II with missile defense capabilities, which is already successfully being exported, will occupy the intermediate position between them.