South Korea to develop long-range interceptor for Iron Dome by 2028

The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) has announced it held a meeting on 20 January with the Agency for Defense Development and prototype companies LIG Nexone, Hanwha Aerospace, and Hanwha Systems, to develop a long-range artillery interceptor system for its Iron Dome.

The Agency for Defense Development reportedly plans to spend around KRW479.8 billion (US$329 million) through to 2028 to develop the interceptor system.

The low-altitude missile defence (LAMD) system is seen as important by South Korea to protect places of national and military importance from the threat of North Korean missiles. The country’s development of its own Iron Dome, DAPA stated, would be designed with “superior capabilities to engage more targets at the same time” than the Israeli Iron Dome.

Bang Uk-chul, head of the guided weapons division of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), said: “The commencement of the development of the long-range artillery interception system means that we will directly secure a reliable air defence capability that protects the lives of the people and important facilities of the state and military from the threat of a large number of North Korean long-range artillery guns.”

South Korea’s intent to develop an Iron Dome was first revealed in 2021 when it announced the development of a KRW2.89 trillion (US$2.6 billion) indigenous air defence system.

In January 2025, DAPA said that it had gained approval to push forward the deployment schedule for the country’s LAMD system by two years, with a new timeframe of between 2025 and 2028.