[Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club] First Successful SM-2 Launch in Korea

ADD Samcheok Marine Research Center Establishes Real-Time Analysis System
Confirms SM-2 Target Hit Fired from Gang Gam-chan Ship in East Sea

The first live-fire training of the SM-2 fleet air defense guided missile in Korea was successfully completed. Until now, the Navy had conducted live-fire training overseas due to the lack of a domestic mid-to-long-range fleet air defense guided missile live-fire sea test range and analysis system.

The military is prepared to shoot down the first-stage booster or debris of North Korean rockets that fall into our territorial waters with SM-2 missiles, which have a range of 170 km. If the rockets head close to our territory, they are also equipped to intercept them with Patriot (PAC-2) missiles deployed on the ground, which have a range of 30 km.

According to the Navy on the 3rd, the ROKS Gang Gam-chan (DDH-II) fired an SM-2 fleet air defense guided missile at an anti-aircraft drone target simulating a high-speed approaching enemy aircraft in the East Sea on the 1st and successfully hit the target.

The Navy had previously conducted SM-2 fleet air defense guided missile live-fire training at the Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) in Hawaii, USA, during the Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC), an overseas training exercise.

The reason live-fire of the SM-2 fleet air defense guided missile became possible domestically is that the Agency for Defense Development (ADD) established the Samcheok Marine Research Center this year. The Samcheok Marine Research Center has built a live analysis system that can monitor the flight trajectory and flight attitude of the SM-2 fleet air defense guided missile in real time and evaluate the target hit status.

During this live-fire training, the Navy and ADD utilized this system to monitor the flight trajectory of the SM-2 fleet air defense guided missile rendered in 3D graphics in real time and assess the hit status. The military expects that conducting guided weapon live-fire training domestically will save approximately 1 billion KRW per launch, which is currently spent on overseas launches.

The Navy plans to use the Samcheok Marine Research Center sea test range to conduct live-fire training of various combat munitions possessed by the Navy, thereby verifying actual combat engagement capabilities and enhancing combat readiness.

Colonel Jang Hoon, commander of the 72nd Mobile Squadron, said, "This training was a great opportunity to confirm the Navy’s air defense capabilities and verify actual combat engagement abilities," adding, "With the possibility of conducting live-fire training of shipborne guided weapons domestically, it is expected to greatly contribute not only to improving the Navy’s guided weapon operation capabilities but also to establishing military readiness."

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