L-SAM
The L-SAM (Long-range Surface-to-Air Missile; Korean: 장거리 지대공 미사일; Hanja: 長距離地對空미사일; RR: Janggeori Jidaegong Misail) is a South Korean long range surface-to-air and anti-ballistic missile system developed by the Agency for Defense Development (ADD), Hanwha, and LIG Nex1. The performance levels are comparable to the American THAAD and the Israeli Arrow 2 and Arrow 3. L-SAM serves as a key system in South Korea's Korean Air and Missile Defense (KAMD).
L-SAM

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- Field
- surface-to-air missile system and anti-ballistic missile.
- Region
- South Korea.
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The L-SAM (Long-range Surface-to-Air Missile; Korean: 장거리 지대공 미사일; Hanja: 長距離地對空미사일; RR: Janggeori Jidaegong Misail) is a South Korean long range surface-to-air and anti-ballistic missile system developed by the Agency for Defense Development (ADD), Hanwha, and LIG Nex1. The performance levels are comparable to the American THAAD and the Israeli Arrow 2 and Arrow 3. L-SAM serves as a key system in South Korea's Korean Air and Missile Defense (KAMD).
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wikidata · Q22971925 · wikipedia · L-SAM
In this article
Development and design
Development and design
The development of L-SAM Block 1 was officially completed in May 2024 and was declared fit for combat by the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA).
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 terminal phase. 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. The L-SAM system is expected to use two types of interceptors: one for anti-air meant to target general air breathing threats such as aircraft or cruise missiles and the other for anti-ballistic. The anti-ballistic missile (ABM) consists of total of a three stages and uses a hit-to-kill system that intercepts targets with a kill vehicle that integrates an imaging infra-red (IIR) seeker and a divert attitude control system (DACS), and can intercept missiles approaching at an altitude of 50–60 kilometers (160,000–200,000 ft). L-SAM demonstrated its intercept capability by succeeding three out of a total of four missile interception tests between November 2022 and June 2023. 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.
Dual-pulse propulsion system
Dual-pulse propulsion system
The L-SAM is designed to efficiently distribute propulsion energy across flight segments by adopting dual-pulsed rocket motors (DPRM) to allow interceptors to have high thrust and fast maneuverability in the stratosphere. A dual-pulsed propulsion engine creates two-stage pulse combustion by installing a pulse separation device in single combustor. The first-stage combustion carries the missile to the target point, and the second-stage combustion speeds up rapidly in the final stage of approaching the target, increasing the success rate of interception.
Long-range multifunction radar (L-MFR)
Long-range multifunction radar (L-MFR)
The L-SAM's multifunction radar is an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar operated at S-band frequency. The radar can detect and track multiple targets and can simultaneously operate the precision tracking mode required for the guidance of the interceptor. A fixed antenna allows fast and precise detection by electronically steering the beam by thousands of transmit/receive modules (TRM). The advantages of the S-band are its long range of detection and excellent adaptability to severe weather conditions. Compared to the C-band and the X-band, it has less scattering and attenuation of radio waves and can reliably detect large areas, making it suitable for tracking targets such as ballistic missiles approaching at high altitudes and at high speeds.
Transmit/receive module
Transmit/receive module
Operating frequency: S-band (2–4 GHz) Tx gain: 10 dB ± 0.5 dB Rx noise figure: <4 dB Phase range: 6 bits Attenuation range: 6 bits
Battery configuration
Battery configuration
The L-SAM battery is composed of a multifunction radar, a command-and-control (C2) center, a combat control station, and four truck-mounted launchers, two of each missile type. It will use a trailer-mounted S-band AESA radar. Command and control center: 1 Combat control station: 1 Multifunction radar: 1 Launchers: 4 Missiles per launcher: 6 (surface-to-air missiles and anti-ballistic missiles)
Block 2
Block 2
On 25 April 2023, the 153rd Defense Acquisition Program Promotion Committee deliberated and approved on a plan to develop a new missile defense system with a higher intercepting altitude than the existing L-SAM with a budget of 2.71 trillion won by 2027. The new missile system, named L-SAM 2, includes high-altitude interceptor (HAI) missiles and glide phase interceptor (GPI) missiles, and is estimated to have an interception altitude of 180 km.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Newsis. '한국형 사드' L-SAM 개발 완료…北미사일 더 빨리 요격. 25 May 2024.
- 2.Korean Broadcasting System. 북한 미사일 더 빠르게 요격…‘한국형 사드’ L-SAM 개발 완료. 25 May 2024.
- 3.Agency for Defense Development. L-SAM.
- 4.Hanwha Corporation - Hanwha. Hanwha.com.
- 5.South Korea tests indigenous long-range surface-to-air missile. Janes Information Services. 24 February 2022.
- 6.Defense Acquisition Program Administration. 원하는 거리에 정확하게 L-SAM-Ⅱ & 함대공미사일 & 해궁. July 2025.
- 7.Defense Agency for Technology and Quality. 보이지 않는 전장의 최상층, L-SAM. 27 February 2026.
- 8.Defense Media Agency. K-방산 다음 타자는 L-SAM! 전 세계가 한국의 ‘젤 타입 연료’에 경악하는 이유│밀리터리사이언스 59회 @kfnplus. 14 May 2026.
- 9.Defense Acquisition Program Administration. 제153회 방위사업추진위원회 결과. 25 April 2023.
- 10.Defense Acquisition Program Administration. K-방산은 순항 중. July 2024.
- 11.Korean Broadcasting System. '한국형 사드' L-SAM 요격 순간 첫 공개…"복합 다층방어체계 속도". 1 June 2023.
- 12.Sedaily. 200㎞ 밖 미사일 수분만에 요격…美·이스라엘 이어 세번째 개발. 1 June 2023.
- 13.Joon Ha Park. South Korea unveils plans for new missile defense system to counter North Korea. NK NEWS. 14 January 2025.
- 14.Center for International and Security Studies at Maryland. Ballistic Missile Defense in South Korea: Separate Systems Against a Common Threat. 2 January 2017.
- 15.Defense Acquisition Program Administration. 국가안보의 보루, 한국형 미사일방어체계 핵심전력 개발 순항 중. 29 December 2023.
- 16.Defense Agency for Technology and Quality. L-SAM의 보이지 않는 지휘관, 다기능 레이더. 22 May 2025.
- 17.Broadern. Transmitter-receiver Module for L-SAM (Long-distance Multi-functional Radar).
- 18.Pike, John. L-SAM Long-range Surface-to-Air Missile. Globalsecurity.org.
- 19.Hanwha Techwin Shows S-Band AESA For L-SAM BMD. Aviationweek.com.
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