South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) has approved a $283.51 million project to build close-in weapon system (CIWS) for the Navy’s warships.
Seoul plans to begin work on the project next year and aims to complete it by 2030, Yonhap reported Tuesday.
The CIWS is designed to detect and destroy short range anti-ship missiles and aircraft that have penetrated outer defenses. Currently, South Korea uses the US CIWS system.
The new weapon will be mounted on many of South Korean naval ships, including its 6,000-ton class destroyers built under the Korean Destroyer Next Generation (KDDX) project, and 3,000-ton Batch-III Ulsan-class frigates.
S. Korea; DAPA to fund close-in weapon to defense surface vessels