The United Arab Emirates is planning to purchase South Korean M-SAM surface-to-air missile systems in a deal that could be worth up to $3.5 billion, the UAE defense ministry said on November 16.
Details on the contract, which was announced on social media, are still scarce.
The defense ministry said in a statement that the medium-range M-SAM would “constitute a qualitative addition to the capabilities and capabilities of the national air defense.”
The M-SAM system is also known as Cheongung in Republic of Korea Air Force service, which first fielded it in 2015. It is composed of a command and control unit, radar, and missile launchers, mounted on three separate trucks.
According to the South Korean defense procurement agency, the system intercept targets at ranges of 40 kilometers and an altitude of up to 15 kilometers. South Korean defense major LIG-Nex1 was the main contractor on the program, and is also working on a Block II version of the system that will provide ballistic missile protection.
