L-SAM

South Korean anti-ballistic missile system

Long-range Surface-to-Air Missile 장거리 지대공 미사일
A ballistic missile interception test of L-SAM
Type	Long-range, mobile surface-to-air missile/anti-ballistic missile system
Place of origin	South Korea
Service history
In service	2026 (planned)^[1]
Used by	Republic of Korea Air Force
Production history
Designer	Agency for Defense Development (system) Hanwha (anti-ballistic)^[2] LIG Nex1 (anti-aircraft)
Designed	Block I: 2019–2024 (planned)^[3]^[4] Block II: 2024–2035 (planned)^[5]
Manufacturer	Hanwha Aerospace^[2] LIG Nex1
Specifications

Operational range	Block I: 150 km (93 mi) (Both interceptors)^[3]
Flight ceiling	Block I: 40 km (130,000 ft) – 60 km (200,000 ft)^[3]^[6] Block II: 120 km (390,000 ft) – 180 km (590,000 ft)^[5]

The L-SAM (Long-range Surface-to-Air Missile; Korean: 장거리 지대공 미사일; RR: Janggeori Jidaegong Misail) is a South Korean multi-layered missile defense system being developed by the Agency for Defense Development (ADD). It aims to shoot down North Korea's ballistic missiles such as KN-23 and KN-24 in the terminal phase.^[6] It will use a trailer-mounted S band AESA radar.^[7]^[8] It will be an upper-tier interceptor for a layered defense, as part of the Korean Air and Missile Defense (KAMD) project, slated to be ready in the early 2020s, with the lower tier composed of Patriot PAC-3 and KM-SAM batteries.^[9]

Performance levels are superior to Patriot and KM-SAM missiles, showing almost double the performance compared to the aforementioned missiles. It has a hot launch type missile system that is different from KM-SAM, a cold launch type.

Design and development

The L-SAM system is expected to use two types of interceptors: one for anti-air meant to target general air breathing threats such aircraft or cruise missiles and the other for anti-ballistic . The anti-ballistic missile (ABM) consists of a total of three stages and uses a hit-to-kill system that intercepts targets with a kill vehicle with infrared sensors and precise flight control capabilities, and the missile interceptor will be capable of intercepting missiles at altitudes between 40 and 60 km. An L-SAM battery will consist of a multifunction radar, a command-and-control (C2) center, a combat control station, and four truck-mounted launchers, two for each missile type.^[3]^[6]

L-SAM demonstrated its intercept capability by succeeding three out of a total of four missile interception tests between November 2022 and June 2023.^[4]^[6]

Battery configuration

Command and control center: 1
Combat control station: 1
Multifunction radar: 1
Launchers: 4
Missiles per launcher: 4 (two surface-to-air missiles and anti-ballistic missiles each)

Improvements

L-SAM Block-II

On 25 April 2023, the 153rd Defense Acquisition Program Promotion Committee deliberated and approved on a plan to develop a new missile defense system with a higher intercepting altitude than the existing L-SAM with a budget of 2.71 trillion won by 2027. The new missile system, named L-SAM 2, includes high-altitude interceptor missiles and glide phase interceptor (GPI) missiles, and is estimated to have an interception altitude of 180 km.^[5]

References

^ S. Korea successfully tests L-SAM missile interceptor: sources. Yonhap News Agency. 23 February 2022.
^ ^a ^b "Hanwha Corporation - Hanwha". Hanwha.com. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "South Korea tests indigenous long-range surface-to-air missile". Janes Information Services. 24 February 2022. Archived from the original on 27 February 2022.
^ ^a ^b "국가안보의 보루, 한국형 미사일방어체계 핵심전력 개발 순항 중". Defense Acquisition Program Administration. 29 December 2023. Archived from the original on 25 January 2024. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c "제153회 방위사업추진위원회 결과". Defense Acquisition Program Administration. 25 April 2023. Archived from the original on 1 June 2023. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Kim Yong-jun (1 June 2023). "'한국형 사드' L-SAM 요격 순간 첫 공개…"복합 다층방어체계 속도"". Korean Broadcasting System. Archived from the original on 22 February 2024. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
^ Pike, John. "L-SAM Long-range Surface-to-Air Missile". Globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
^ "Hanwha Techwin Shows S-Band AESA For L-SAM BMD". Aviationweek.com. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
^ Joshua Pollack (2 January 2017). "Ballistic Missile Defense in South Korea: Separate Systems Against a Common Threat" (PDF). Center for International and Security Studies at Maryland. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 July 2021. Retrieved 16 July 2021.