South Korea's Cheongung-II system successfully repells Iranian attacks in UAE

South Korea’s Cheongung-II air defence system, used in combat for the first time, has demonstrated performance comparable to American and Israeli systems during Iranian strikes on the United Arab Emirates, CNN reports, citing a South Korean lawmaker.

Yu Young-won, a member of the National Assembly’s Committee on National Defence, said the Cheongung-II achieved “a phenomenal combat striking precision rate of 96%” during large-scale Iranian air attacks. 

He added that in recent complex operations involving numerous drones and ballistic missiles with unconventional manoeuvres, it is rare for any system to exceed a 90 per cent interception rate.

According to Yu, roughly 60 interceptors have been launched so far from two Cheongung-II batteries deployed in the UAE.

The UAE also operates U.S.-made Patriot and THAAD systems, as well as Israeli Barak air defence systems. Beyond the UAE, the Cheongung-II is deployed in Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

Known as a medium-range surface-to-air missile system, Cheongung-II is a core component of South Korea’s air and missile defence network. According to developer LIG Nex1, the system features a multifunction radar with tracking technology and high-precision seekers capable of engaging multiple targets simultaneously.

By Khagan Isayev