L-SAM

The L-SAM was developed with the aim of shooting down ballistic missiles such as North Korea's [[Hwasong-11A]] (KN-23) and [[Hwasong-11B]] (KN-24) in the [[Ballistic missile flight phases|terminal phase]].<ref name="KBS News 2023-06-01" /> It will be an upper-tier surface-to-air missile system for multi-layered defense as part of [[Republic of Korea Air Force]]'s Korean Air and Missile Defense (KAMD) project, which has been planned since the early 2020s, with the lower tier composed of [[Patriot PAC-3]] and [[KM-SAM]] batteries.<ref name="ADD L-SAM" /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://cissm.umd.edu/sites/default/files/2019-07/Paper%204%20-%20Ballistic%20Missile%20Defense%20in%20South%20Korea.pdf|title=Ballistic Missile Defense in South Korea: Separate Systems Against a Common Threat|publisher=Center for International and Security Studies at Maryland|date=2 January 2017|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20210716165008/https://cissm.umd.edu/sites/default/files/2019-07/Paper%204%20-%20Ballistic%20Missile%20Defense%20in%20South%20Korea.pdf|archivedate=16 July 2021|accessdate=16 July 2021|author1=Joshua Pollack}}</ref>

The L-SAM was developed with the aim of shooting down ballistic missiles such as North Korea's [[Hwasong-11A]] (KN-23) and [[Hwasong-11B]] (KN-24) in the [[Ballistic missile flight phases|terminal phase]].<ref name="KBS News 2023-06-01" /> It will be an upper-tier surface-to-air missile system for multi-layered defense as part of [[Republic of Korea Air Force]]'s Korean Air and Missile Defense (KAMD) project, which has been planned since the early 2020s, with the lower tier composed of [[Patriot PAC-3]] and [[KM-SAM]] batteries.<ref name="ADD L-SAM" /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://cissm.umd.edu/sites/default/files/2019-07/Paper%204%20-%20Ballistic%20Missile%20Defense%20in%20South%20Korea.pdf|title=Ballistic Missile Defense in South Korea: Separate Systems Against a Common Threat|publisher=Center for International and Security Studies at Maryland|date=2 January 2017|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20210716165008/https://cissm.umd.edu/sites/default/files/2019-07/Paper%204%20-%20Ballistic%20Missile%20Defense%20in%20South%20Korea.pdf|archivedate=16 July 2021|accessdate=16 July 2021|author1=Joshua Pollack}}</ref>

The L-SAM system is expected to use two types of interceptors: one for [[aircraft|anti-air]] meant to target general air breathing threats such aircraft or cruise missiles and the other for [[ballistic missile|anti-ballistic]]. The [[anti-ballistic missile]] (ABM) consists of a total of [[Multistage rocket|three stage]]s and uses a [[Kinetic energy weapon|hit-to-kill]] system that intercepts targets with a [[kill vehicle]] with [[infrared]] sensors and precise flight control capabilities, and the missile interceptor will be capable of intercepting missiles at altitudes between 40 and 60&nbsp;km. L-SAM demonstrated its intercept capability by succeeding three out of a total of four missile interception tests between November 2022 and June 2023.<ref name="KBS News 2023-06-01" /><ref name="DAPA 2023-12-29">{{cite web|url=https://www.dapa.go.kr/common/nttFileDownload.do?fileKey=755577aa4f537f0001936177ec8f3353|title=국가안보의 보루, 한국형 미사일방어체계 핵심전력 개발 순항 중|publisher=[[Defense Acquisition Program Administration]]|date=29 December 2023|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20240125094633/https://www.dapa.go.kr/common/nttFileDownload.do?fileKey=755577aa4f537f0001936177ec8f3353|archivedate=25 January 2024|accessdate=25 January 2024|author1=}}</ref>

The L-SAM system is expected to use two types of interceptors: one for [[aircraft|anti-air]] meant to target general air breathing threats such as aircraft or cruise missiles and the other for [[ballistic missile|anti-ballistic]]. The [[anti-ballistic missile]] (ABM) consists of a total of [[Multistage rocket|three stage]]s and uses a [[Kinetic energy weapon|hit-to-kill]] system that intercepts targets with a [[kill vehicle]] with [[infrared]] sensors and precise flight control capabilities, and the missile interceptor will be capable of intercepting missiles at altitudes between 40 and 60&nbsp;km. L-SAM demonstrated its intercept capability by succeeding three out of a total of four missile interception tests between November 2022 and June 2023.<ref name="KBS News 2023-06-01" /><ref name="DAPA 2023-12-29">{{cite web|url=https://www.dapa.go.kr/common/nttFileDownload.do?fileKey=755577aa4f537f0001936177ec8f3353|title=국가안보의 보루, 한국형 미사일방어체계 핵심전력 개발 순항 중|publisher=[[Defense Acquisition Program Administration]]|date=29 December 2023|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20240125094633/https://www.dapa.go.kr/common/nttFileDownload.do?fileKey=755577aa4f537f0001936177ec8f3353|archivedate=25 January 2024|accessdate=25 January 2024|author1=}}</ref>

The development of L-SAM Block 1 was completed in May 2024, and initial mass production will begin in 2025 and will be deployed to the Republic of Korea Air Force from 2028.<ref name="Newsis 2024-05-25" /><ref name="KBS News 2024-05-25" />

The development of L-SAM Block 1 was completed in May 2024, and initial mass production will begin in 2025 and will be deployed to the Republic of Korea Air Force from 2028.<ref name="Newsis 2024-05-25" /><ref name="KBS News 2024-05-25" />