Photo : YONHAP News
The United Arab Emirates(UAE) has requested that South Korea deliver of Cheongung-II batteries early due to the Middle East crisis.
Yonhap News Agency reported Thursday that the UAE asked the South Korean government to deliver such batteries earlier than stipulated in their contract, in light of the recent attacks.
The Cheongung-II is a domestically developed medium-range surface-to-air missile system designed to intercept ballistic missiles and aircraft at an altitude of about 40 kilometers.
Yonhap reported that Seoul expressed reluctance to expedite the delivery of the batteries. The UAE then asked if Seoul could deliver the system’s interceptor missiles early. Seoul is currently considering whether that is possible.
Two of the ten Cheongung-II batteries that South Korea’s LIG Nex1, Hanwha Systems and Hanwha Aerospace were contracted to deliver to the UAE in 2022 have been deployed so far.
The UAE is reported to have uused the deployed Cheongung-II batteries to intercept Iranian missiles after the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran.