South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration has announced the development of KTSSM-II, which will be an enhanced version of KTSSM (pictured above). (ADD)
South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) has announced the development of an enhanced version of the Korean Tactical Surface-to-Surface Missile (KTSSM) or KTSSM-II.
The project to develop the missile is named the Tactical Ground-Based Guided Weapon-II Project. DAPA allocated KRW1.55 trillion (USD1.17 billion) for the project. The missile development is expected to be completed by 2032, DAPA said.
DAPA seeks to develop long-range vehicle-mounted tactical surface-to-surface guided weapons under the project.
“Through this project, it is expected that the ability to respond early and precision-strike against major threats at the beginning of the war will be acquired, and the ability to develop guided weapons for the precision strike will also be improved,” DAPA added.
A DAPA spokesperson told Janes that the organisation has not selected a development partner yet for the project. “The companies making prototypes will be selected later,” the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson did not reveal the specifications and range of the missile.
Janes assesses the KTSSM-II will comprise two blocks of missiles: Block I, which is the same as that used by the KTSSM system, and Block-II, which is fitted with a blast/fragmentation warhead suitable for attacking artillery or short-range ballistic missile systems in the open.
South Korea's Yonhap News Agency previously reported that the KTSSM-II would be used to attack and neutralise facilities housing North Korea's ‘Scud'-type (Hwasong-5/-6/-9) missiles and (KN-09, KN-SS-X-09) 300 mm rocket launchers.
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