[Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club] From Cheongung to Korean-style Taurus, the 'Missile Myungga'

LIG Nex1, Started Producing Guided Weapons in 1976
Surpassed 2 Trillion KRW in Sales Last Year...Rapid Performance Growth
Developed Precision Strike Guided Weapons for Kim Jong-un's Office

LIG Nex1 has recently been experiencing a surge in performance. Since producing precision-guided weapons in 1976, the company’s sales revenue increased from 346.3 billion KRW in 2004 to surpass 2 trillion KRW for the first time last year. Last year’s operating profit reached 179.1 billion KRW, nearly doubling compared to the previous year. The background of this 'quantum jump' in performance lies in its unparalleled guided weapon technology. This is the result of diversifying guided weapon production according to launch points such as land, sea, and underwater.

The representative land-launched guided weapon is the 'Cheongung (天弓)'. Cheongung, which was commissioned by our military in 2019, has a range of 40 km and intercepts enemy aircraft flying at 20 km altitude. With the development of Cheongung, South Korea became the sixth country, following advanced nations such as the United States, Russia, and France, to possess a domestically developed and mass-produced medium-range surface-to-air guided weapon.

The new lightweight torpedo "Cheongsang-eo," designed to strike target submarines from the naval anti-submarine helicopter LYNX, is being launched. [Image source=Yonhap News]

LIG Nex1 Gumi Factory, producing various missiles.

Cheongung was developed to replace the U.S.-made 'HAWK', the main surface-to-air guided weapon used by the Air Force. Since HAWK was called 'Cheolmae' in Korea, the weapon was initially named 'Cheolmae II' during development, but its official name was changed to 'Cheongung'.

The Haegung, a ship defense missile, is a defensive guided weapon that protects friendly ships from anti-ship missiles and aircraft attacks, which are the greatest threats to naval vessels. It adopts a vertical launch system, enabling simultaneous all-direction engagement regardless of the ship’s maneuvering status or target location. Haegung was first mass-produced under contract with LIG Nex1 in 2019 and is being sequentially installed on naval vessels.

The lightweight torpedo called Cheongsang-eo, known as a submarine killer, is launched from ships, aircraft, and helicopters. Its most notable feature is the active array sonar with beam steering technology. This means it can emit sound waves over a wide area for broad detection and has capabilities for detection range and target identification. In particular, Cheongsang-eo is equipped with a pump-jet propulsion system for low-noise, high-speed propulsion, and its directional warhead can penetrate 1.5-meter-thick steel plates. The high-density silver oxide aluminum battery is a core component developed as the second of its kind in the world.

Haeseong is an advanced ship-to-ship guided weapon that incorporates cutting-edge technology. It applies the latest guided search and turbojet engine technologies, achieving a maximum range of 150 km and flying at ultra-low altitude skimming over the water after launch, making interception difficult. Since 2006, it has been deployed on Korean destroyers and has demonstrated excellent hit rates in multinational naval joint exercises such as RIMPAC.

LIG Nex1 also developed a Korean-type seeker installed on the portable surface-to-air guided weapon Shingung. The seeker, which plays a key role in detecting and tracking targets for missiles, is the fifth in the world following the United States and Russia.

Our military plans to produce long-range air-to-ground missiles (Janggongji) capable of ultra-precise strikes on targets such as the office of Chairman Kim Jong-un of the Workers' Party in Pyongyang in case of emergency. LIG Nex1 is responsible for core components such as system integration, guidance control, and navigation devices. This missile is scheduled to be mass-produced with over 200 units by 2031 and will be equipped on the Korean fighter (KF-X) Block-II, whose development will be completed in 2026. Janggongji is a key armament of the KF-21 fighter capable of precision attacks on enemy critical targets hundreds of kilometers away and is the first air-launched missile developed with domestic technology. The domestically developed Janggongji will have a range of over 350 km and will be operated with a penetrator warhead. It resembles the Taurus missile, which has a 500 km range and is mounted on our Air Force’s F-15K, and is also called the 'Korean-type Taurus.'

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.