South Korea's KF-21 Boramae supersonic fighter currently carries the Meteor, a long-range air-to-air missile developed by Europe's MBDA. The military plans to develop and install a domestically built long-range air-to-air missile — a "Korean Meteor" — by the late 2030s. Toward that goal, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration closed submissions on Sept. 7 for proposals on a project to develop a domestic long-range air-to-air guided missile system.
The long-range air-to-air missile is the last major task remaining among domestic weapons to be mounted on the KF-21. The project gained momentum last December when President Lee Jae-myung, during a briefing by the Ministry of National Defense, the Military Manpower Administration and the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, asked why the country had developed a fighter jet without developing a domestic air-to-air missile. The agency plans to select a contractor and begin full development within this year.
The contest is a two-way race: Hanwha Aerospace versus a consortium of Hyundai Rotem and LIG Defense & Aerospace. Hyundai Rotem has strengths in missile propulsion systems, while LIG Defense & Aerospace has strengths in guided weapons, including seekers and guidance and control. The two companies have formed a consortium combining their different technologies to take on Hanwha Aerospace.
Hanwha Aerospace emphasizes more than 20 years of research into core technologies for solid-fuel ducted ramjet propulsion under the direction of the Agency for Defense Development, along with a record of manufacturing key components such as propellants and gas generators. Hyundai Rotem and LIG Defense & Aerospace point to their own capabilities — ramjet and hypersonic engine development dating to 2005, and experience developing long-range air-to-surface and short-range air-to-air missiles.
Both sides place particular emphasis on solid-fuel ducted ramjet engine technology, which is central to long-range air-to-air missile performance. A ducted ramjet engine draws in outside air during flight to burn fuel, and it is key to sustaining thrust over long distances. Its advantage is that the missile can retain high energy into the later stages of flight even if a target aircraft maneuvers sharply to evade.
Ultimately, the outcome of the competition is expected to hinge on the ability to complete the missile as a single integrated system and on how effectively propulsion, seeker and guidance technologies are brought together. An official at Hanwha Aerospace said the company has strengths in integrating a range of missile systems, including surface-to-surface, surface-to-air, air-to-surface and air-to-air weapons, as well as in propulsion system development.
An official at LIG Defense & Aerospace said the company has built up experience developing a variety of aircraft armaments, including the Korean GPS Guided Bomb, the Cheonryong long-range air-to-surface missile and short-range air-to-air guided missiles. An official at Hyundai Rotem said the company is building its own infrastructure at a propulsion test facility in Seosan, South Chungcheong Province, where it can test the performance, design and manufacturing processes of ducted ramjet engines.
The "Korean Meteor" program is also drawing attention overseas. U.S. aviation trade publication Aviation Week reported on Sept. 1 that South Korea's localization effort coincides with a global race in long-range air combat weapons, and that bundling the KF-21 with a domestic long-range air-to-air missile as a single package could strengthen export competitiveness.
Some analysts say the key variable in this project lies outside the bidding itself. Hanwha Aerospace faces an investigation for violating the Serious Accidents Punishment Act over an explosion at its Daejeon plant, while an executive at LIG Defense & Aerospace has been indicted and detained on charges of giving money to an official at the Defense Acquisition Program Administration — factors that must be reflected as evaluation elements in the bidding process.
An official at the Defense Acquisition Program Administration said judicial proceedings in both cases are unlikely to be concluded before the October selection, so sanctions such as restrictions on bidding eligibility will not be applied in this contest. The official added that evaluation criteria require assessing risks related to participating companies' serious industrial accidents and integrity, so which company receives the larger deduction could be decisive.
The project involves 753.5 billion won in development costs through 2033 and 1.1471 trillion won in follow-on production costs starting in 2035, bringing the total to about 1.9 trillion won. The Agency for Defense Development will name a preferred bidder on Oct. 12 after evaluations. It then plans to negotiate the overall terms with the preferred bidder and complete a final contract within this year.
