KF-21: South Korea’s Weapon Against North Korea’s Provocations – Part 3

Korean Military, Also Pushing for Joint Development of Interception Weapons with the US

On the other hand, if the North Korean missile is intercepted in the ascent phase with an air-to-ground missile mounted on the KF-21, the damage caused by the missile fragments falling on the land can be prevented.

According to the interception concept diagram released on the ADD website, a Korean mid-to-high altitude drone detects a North Korean ballistic missile that has been launched, sends target information to the KF-21 equipped with an intercept missile (interceptor missile), and then the intercept missile is launched to intercept the missile in the ascent phase.

The military authorities are known to plan to develop a laser weapon in the medium to long term, mounted on a fighter or drone to intercept with a laser after developing an interceptor in the form of a missile.

To this end, the military authorities plan to push for joint development with the United States, considering that the United States regards North Korea’s ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile) as a severe threat and is pushing for the development of an ascent phase interception weapon such as a laser. A military source said, “We have expressed our intention to develop ascent phase interception weapons to the US side jointly, and it is understood that they have responded positively.” “We are pushing for joint development with the United States.”

It is known that the Meteor medium-range missile and AIM-2000/IRIS-T short-range missile made in Europe will be equipped for air-to-air missiles. It is reported that the KF-21 will be equipped with 4 METEOR air-to-air missiles during its first flight. The Meteor missile, developed by six European countries including the UK, Germany, Italy, France, Spain, and Sweden, can fly over four times the speed of sound and shoot down enemy aircraft 200km away.

It is equipped with a collision and proximity fuse and a fragmentary explosive warhead, so it is evaluated as highly lethal. The Meteor, which flies at a speed that even a stealth fighter cannot avoid, was the first to be operated in Asia by Korea. Currently, it is equipped and operated on Eurofighter Typhoons, Rafales, and British F-35 fighters. It is rated as the world’s best-performing air-to-air missile.

Also, a supersonic air-to-ship cruise missile will be equipped, which can be a tremendous threat to China. The missile flies at three times the speed of sound along the surface at a low altitude, making interception difficult.

Air-to-Ground Guided Missile “Improved TAURUS K-2” Listed

In the case of the long-range air-to-ground missile, which is the core strike weapon of the KF-21, the GBU-31 JDAM (Joint Direct Attack Munition), other GBU series bombs, the precision-guided bomb (KGGB) made in Korea, and the long-range air-to-ground missile being developed by the Agency for Defense Development (ADD) are equipped. In particular, the long-range air-to-ground missile is evaluated as a strategic weapon that can hit targets up to 500km away.

Some suggest that the long-range air-to-ground missile to be equipped on the KF-21 needs to be jointly developed using overseas technology with favorable export conditions to reduce the development span and failure rate. The “Improved Taurus K-2,” which the Air Force introduced for precision strikes against North Korea, is cited as a representative example.

The TAURUS K-2, being developed by Germany’s TAURUS Systems, is lighter and shorter in weight and length than the existing TAURUS. Thus, it can be mounted not only on the KF-21 but also on the FA-50 domestic light attack aircraft. Its range is over 600km, which is longer than the TAURUS (500km), making it even more powerful.

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