South Korea’s State-of-the-Art Surface-to-Air Interceptor System Exported to Iraq

South Korea’s domestically developed surface-to-air interceptor system, ‘Cheongung II’, has been exported to Iraq, marking the third trillion-unit export deal after the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. The contract is worth approximately 3.7 trillion won.

LIG Nex1 announced the signing of the export contract with the Iraqi Ministry of National Defense on the 20th. This deal is equivalent to 1.6 times the total sales of LIG Nex1 last year.

The Cheongung-II battery consists of four launch vehicles equipped with eight launch tubes, a multi-function radar, and an engagement control center. The system is designed to intercept ballistic missiles and aircraft flying at an altitude of 40 km or less, with a superior warhead that destroys targets by direct collision.

Cheongung-II is considered a core weapon of the Korean Missile Defense System (KAMD), utilizing engagement control technology to intercept ballistic missiles, multi-function radar tracking technology, and precision seeker for simultaneous multi-target engagement.

This is not the first time Cheongung-II has been exported. It was first exported to the UAE in 2022 and then to Saudi Arabia in February this year, gaining recognition for its technology and reliability in the global air defense market.

LIG Nex1 expects the deployment of Cheongung-II in the air defense networks of three Middle Eastern countries to increase the possibility of additional exports of long-range and high-altitude interceptor systems to these countries.

Shin Ik-hyeon, CEO of LIG Nex1, attributed the success to the full support of related organizations and close cooperation from the defense industry, including partner companies. He emphasized the company’s commitment to ensuring this achievement raises the status of K-Defense and creates new growth opportunities abroad for small and medium-sized defense companies.