2024-04-26 11:21:00
The SM-3 tests its combat capabilities by intercepting Iranian ballistic missiles. Capable of intercepting North Korean missiles as soon as they peak and begin to descend, the M-SAM, Patriot, L-SAM and THAAD are added to form a “dense”. multi-layered defense network, North Korea faces right in front of them… “Weapons totally unsuitable for the battlefield environment on the Korean Peninsula,” DAPA says, “North Korea’s nuclear weapons must be intercepted at high altitude to be advantageous.
Military authorities have decided to introduce the SM-3, a missile mounted on Navy Aegis ships that intercepts and destroys North Korean ballistic missiles at an altitude of more than 100 km. The American-made SM-3 has an intercept altitude ranging from 100 km to a maximum of 300 km, based on the initial Block 1A model. The maximum flight range is known to be around 500 km.
Among the interceptor weapons currently deployed on the Korean Peninsula, such as the various interceptor missiles our military possesses and the U.S. Forces Korea’s Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense system, the altitude of interception is the highest, so the range of multi-interceptor weapons is the highest. multi-layer defense is expanded, and North Korean missile defense capability increases significantly.
●SM-3 verifies actual combat capabilities by intercepting Iranian missiles
North Korea’s “Hwasong-18” intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). News 1
The Defense Acquisition Program Administration held the 161st Defense Acquisition Program Promotion Committee on the 26th and announced that it had decided to purchase the SM-3 abroad for mounting on the King Jeongjo-class ship, the Navy’s next-generation Aegis ship (KDX-Ⅲ). Lot-Ⅱ). The cost of the project is approximately 803.9 billion won. According to the current plan, regarding 40 SM-3 missiles, worth 20 billion won per firing, are expected to be introduced by 2030.
The SM-3 is also famous for intercepting the Iranian airstrike once morest Israel with around 300 missiles and drones on the 13th (local time). At the time, the US military reportedly shot down more than three Iranian ballistic missiles by launching SM-3s mounted on Aegis destroyers into the sea. This was the first time the SM-3 missile was used in actual combat, and its precise interception capabilities were verified by actual use.
Our Navy also made a request to the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 2013, emphasizing the need to introduce the SM-3 to respond to North Korean missiles. Then, following considering the effectiveness and financial conditions of the SM-3 considering the battlefield environment of the Korean Peninsula, its introduction was decided today by the Defense and Security Committee.
The launch of the SM-3 Block 2A missile. US Missile Defense Agency website
The SM-3 is expected to be later installed on the South Korean Navy’s next-generation Aegis ships, which will have a total of three ships, one in 2026 and one in 2027, starting with one ship at the end of this year. In addition to the SM-3, the new generation Aegis ship is expected to be equipped with the SM-6 interceptor missile, the sale of which to South Korea was tentatively approved by the US government in November last year. This should improve considerably. the ship’s ability to respond to North Korean ballistic missiles as well as its own defense capabilities. The SM-6 can intercept ballistic missiles at an altitude of up to 35 km. Our Navy’s Aegis ships currently in operation are only equipped with missiles (SM-2) intended to intercept aircraft such as North Korean fighter jets.
●“If the SM-3 is introduced, it will be possible to intercept North Korean missiles immediately following they fall. »
Korean KF-21 “Boramae” fighter. Provided by the Defense Acquisition Program Administration
In particular, the SM-3 is attracting attention because it will further strengthen our military’s North Korean missile defense system. Our military interception system includes medium-range surface-to-air missiles (Cheongung-II, interceptable altitudes below 20 km) and Patriot missiles (PAC-3, below 30 km) that intercept at lower levels (lower altitudes 40 km) even at the terminal. stage of the missile. The weapon responsible for interception at altitude (altitude 40-100 km) during the terminal phase of the missile is the long-range surface-to-air missile “Korean version of THAAD” (L-SAM, 40-60 km), whose deployment is planned for 2026. In the case of the THAAD deployed to US Forces Korea, it intercepts at an altitude of 40 to 150 km, but is estimated to have limitations as it only has one deployed battery in Seongju, Gyeongsangbuk-do, making intervention difficult. defend the entire Korean peninsula.
A DAPA official said: “The SM-3 is capable of carrying out interception missions from the ‘intermediate stage’ (altitude of 100 km or more), when a North Korean missile peaks following launch and begins to descend,” adding, “Even if interception is attempted at the middle stage and fails, the L “As interception can be attempted multiple times at multiple stages with higher-tier and lower-tier interception weapons final such as SAM, M-SAM and Patriot, the possibilities of interception increase and become more secure,” he explained.
●“A tight confrontation with North Korea… It is also emphasized that “the weapons are not suitable for the battlefield on the Korean peninsula”.
However, in the case of short-range ballistic missiles launched by North Korea and aimed at South Korea, they usually fly into South Korean airspace, peak and begin to descend to an altitude below 100 km , hence the introduction of the SM-3 was a decision that did not take into account the unique battlefield environment of the Korean Peninsula. There are also criticisms. In the case of Iran and Israel, they are 1,500 km from the capitals of both countries and the altitude from which they start to descend during a missile attack is more than 100 km, this which makes it a suitable battlefield for the use of the SM-3. However, since the Korean Peninsula is a battlefield where a confrontation is taking place before our eyes, the distance between Seoul and Pyongyang is only 200 km, the flight altitude of the missiles is also low, so it is emphasized that spending a lot of money introducing the SM-3 would be pointless.
A DAPA official said: “The introduction of the SM-3 is necessary to prepare for various scenarios, such as North Korea deliberately increasing its flight altitude by launching ballistic missiles at high angles during a real combat”, and added: “Missiles equipped with weapons of mass destruction such as nuclear weapons. “If intercepted or exploded at an altitude of 40 km or less, the impact on the Korean Peninsula will be very great, so the decision to intercept at an altitude above 100 km is more effective, which is this is also the context of the decision to introduce the SM-3,” he explained.
Journalist Son Hyo-joo hjson@donga.com
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