20. januar 2008. | A/T
Južnokorejska RM planira da svoje AEGIS razarače naoruža raketama SM-6, koju su razvile američka mornarica i Raytheon, a za potrebe obaranja balističkih i krstarećih raketa. Namera je da se razvije nacionalni, nezavisni raketni štit kojim će se Južna Koreja štititi od niskoletećih raketa kratkog i srednjeg dometa koje bi mogle biti lansirane sa pozicija severno od njih.
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Sa pporinuća prvog AEGIS razarača južnokorejske RMCela vestSEOUL — South Korea’s Navy is planning to equip its Aegis destroyers with the up-to-date SM-6 extended range active missile being developed by Raytheon and the U.S. Navy to thwart incoming ballistic and cruise missiles from North Korea, the top Navy officer said last week.
The plan is part of efforts to develop the nation’s independent low-tier missile shield aimed at intercepting low-flying short- and medium-range missiles from the North, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Song Young-moo said.
“We are considering buying the SM-6 ship-to-air missile from the U.S. to equip our Aegis destroyers, including the Sejong the Great launched last year,’’ Song told reporters Jan. 16. “The introduction of the SM-6 missile is a core part of building a low-altitude intercept shield against North Korean missiles.”
The United States gave a positive response to the Navy’s pursuit of the SM-6 missile, Song added.
The SM-6, or Standard Missile-6, with a range of 320 to 400 kilometers, is expected to help intercept the North’s incoming ballistic missiles at an earlier stage, Navy officials said.
Previously, the South Korean Navy wanted to buy more than 200 ship-to-air SM-2 Block IIIA/B missiles with a range of 170 kilometers to equip its advanced KDX series of destroyers.
“We haven’t made a final decision yet on the purchase of SM-6 missiles because they are still being developed now,” a Navy official said on condition of anonymity. “We’ll keep reviewing the feasibility of both SM-2 Block IIIA/B and SM-6 missiles.”
The official stressed, however, the potential purchase of the extended range SM-6 missile has nothing to do with the U.S.-led ballistic missile defense network, in which Japan is actively participating against possible attacks from North Korea.
South Korea has not taken part in the U.S. missile shield because of financial constraints and possible anti-U.S. sentiments. It also does not want to look to provoke neighboring countries such as North Korea and China.
For use as an anti-air warfare and theater air-defense missile, the SM-6 is expected to provide extended-range anti-air warfare capability against a multitude of targets, including aircraft, land-attack and anti-ship cruise missiles in flight, either over sea or land, missile experts said.
With its active radar system the SM-6 is also expected to engage over-the-horizon targets using a future networked fire-control data system for targeting, they said.
South Korea will launch two more 7,600-ton KDX-III ships, equipped with Lockheed Martin-built Aegis combat system and state-of-the-art anti-air, land-attack and anti-sup missiles, by 2012.
That’s when South Korea’s low-altitude missile defense shield, dubbed the Korea air and missile defense (KAMD) network system, will be fully operational.
The KAMD will involve Patriot Advanced Capability-2 (PAC-2) interceptors, ship-based air defense systems and a ballistic missile early warning radar to be built by the state-run Agency for Defense Development with technological support from foreign countries, military sources said.
The terminal-phase defense aims to intercept targets about 40 kilometers north of Seoul.
To that end, the country’s defense procurement agency approved the $1 billion SAM-X project last September to purchase 48 second-hand PAC-2 launch modules, radars and missiles, including the Patriot Anti-Tactical Missile and Guidance Enhanced Missile Plus (GEM+) from Germany beginning this year.
The agency plans to buy Raytheon’s ground-control equipment to support two Patriot system battalions.
