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Air defense system

South Korea

LIG Nex1

L-SAM

South Korea's indigenous long-range surface-to-air missile system, designed as the upper tier of the national missile defense architecture with a hit-to-kill interceptor for ballistic missile threats and a separate round for conventional aircraft. Block 1 development completed in May 2024 with production starting in 2025 and deployment to the Republic of Korea Air Force planned for 2028.

In service since 2024 · 1 operator countries

Compiled from public sources ·primary reference ↗ ·last verified 2026-07-02

150

km range

60,000

m altitude

Procurement snapshot

Availability & export

ROK export-licensed

DAPA-administered; aggressive export posture with financing/offset packages.

Channel: Government-to-government

Fielded & proven

Limited · 1 operator

In service since 2024. Status: active.

Lifecycle cost (est.)

No public unit price to model from. Why so few systems publish one →

Interoperability

No standardised NATO calibre / datalink detected in public specs.

Derived guidance from public data, export regime by country of origin, lifecycle from the GAO ~30% acquisition rule. Verify eligibility, pricing and offsets with the manufacturer and your acquisition authority.

Full specifications

Performance

Speed, range, altitude and engagement capability.

Performance specifications
Max speed (Mach) Maximum speed as a multiple of the speed of sound. Mach 2+ is typical for air-superiority fighters.	9 Mach Stronger than 88% of air-defense systems
Engagement range Maximum distance at which an air-defense system can intercept targets. Higher covers more airspace.	150 km Stronger than 76% of air-defense systems
Engagement altitude Maximum target altitude the system can reach.	60,000 m Top 8% of air-defense systems

Firepower

Armament, payload and guidance.

Firepower specifications
Guidance How the weapon finds its target: inertial, GPS/GLONASS, active/semi-active radar, infrared, laser, TV, wire.	imaging infrared seeker with divert attitude control system (DACS), hit-to-kill

Propulsion

Engine, power and fuel.

Propulsion specifications
Propulsion type Turbofan, turboshaft, diesel, gas turbine, solid-fuel rocket, ramjet…	Dual-pulsed rocket motor

Sensors & avionics

Radar, sensor suite and datalinks.

Sensors & avionics specifications
Radar Primary radar. AESA (active electronically scanned array) is the current state of the art.	Active electronically scanned array (AESA) S-band radar

Program

Cost, production scale and operators.

Program specifications
Operator countries Number of countries operating the system. More operators means broader support ecosystem.	1 Stronger than 21% of air-defense systems

Specifications compiled from public LIG Nex1 and reference sources ↗. Published defense figures are approximations, treat comparisons as directional. Last verified 2026-07-02.

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