South Korea is developing a new surface-to-air missile to replace its outdated, US-made Hawk missiles, a state-run defense research institute said Friday.
The Agency for Defence Development (ADD) said it had been working on the project worth 555.8 billion won (534 million dollars) since 1998 with a view to completing it by 2010.
“The new missiles will replace Hawk missiles” which have been deployed in South Korea since 1964, a spokesman at the ADD told AFP.
The missiles, which are yet to be named, will have a 50-kilometer (31.25 mile) range and reach an altitude of 25 kilometers (16.7 miles), Yonhap news agency said.
In addition, South Korea also plans to buy 48 US-made Patriot missiles to replace US-made Nike Hercules missiles which are used to intercept incoming enemy aircraft at high altitudes.
It also operates domestically built Chunma (Pegasus) missiles and French-made shoulder-launched missiles for low-altitude targets.
