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South Korea Showcases New Missiles
Gumi, South Korea (AFP) Mar 27, 2006 South Korea on Friday showcased a locally-developed ship-to-ship cruise missile and a shoulder-launched missile to counter North Korea's missile threat. The new weapons went on display at a defense plant here south of Seoul at a ceremony attended by Defense Minister Yoon Kwang-Ung. "We have completed the development of the two indigenous missiles," said a spokesman for the government's defense acqusition program administration. The portable Singung missile automatically explodes against a target flying within a radius of 1.5 kilometers, sending out 720 fragments. This is the first portable anti-aircraft missile developed by South Korea, which has imported hundreds of US and French shoulder-launched missiles for low-altitude targets. Military officials said the new cruise missile, Haeseong, with a range of up to 150 kilometers, would replace its US-made Harpoon missiles. The new 2.7-meter-long missile can be launched from both ships and helicopters, and travels at a speed of 45 knots (83 kilometers per hour). South Korea last year deployed new medium-range missiles capable of hitting most strategic targets in North Korea. It is also developing a new surface-to-air missile with a 50-kilometer range to replace its outdated US-made Hawk missiles. Military experts say North Korea's missile development poses a major threat to regional security on top of its nuclear ambitions. North Korea has already deployed short range Scuds and Rodongs with a range of 1,300 kilometres, while actively developing Taepodong missiles with a range of up to 6,000 kilometres. Pyongyang stunned the world in 1998 by test-launching over Japan a Taepodong-1 missile with a range of up to 2,000 kilometres.
Source: Agence France-Presse Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links - Learn about missile defense at SpaceWar.com All about missiles at SpaceWar.com
US Army Awards Raytheon Patriot Engineering Services Contract
Tewksbury MA (SPX) Mar 23, 2006Raytheon has been awarded an $80 million contract modification from the US Army Aviation and Missile Command to provide engineering services support to the Patriot Air and Missile Defense program. |
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