Cheongung-II / M-SAM Block II

South Korea's medium-range air and ballistic-missile defence system, also designated M-SAM Block II.

Overview

Cheongung-II forms a middle layer of South Korea's air and missile defences. It combines an interceptor built by LIG Nex1 with a multifunction radar from Hanwha Systems and launch equipment from Hanwha Aerospace. South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration, or DAPA, said the first Cheongung-II program finished fielding in 2024. A second program upgrades existing Cheongung batteries to the Block II standard; its first upgraded equipment was delivered in July 2025, according to DAPA.

The UAE became the first foreign operator. IISS reported that two UAE batteries were in service by mid-March 2026 and had been used against Iranian missiles and one-way attack drones. The institute did not establish a Cheongung-II-specific intercept total. Claims about the performance of the UAE's entire layered defence network cannot be assigned to this system alone. Saudi Arabia and Iraq have also ordered Cheongung-II, but their systems had not yet been delivered in the cited account.

Image - A Cheongung-II battery display with radar, launcher and control vehicles. Photo by South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration, KOGL Type 1, adapted, via Wikimedia Commons.

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