South Korea has signed its largest contract worth $3.5 billion, and Russia has once again missed its biggest customer
Almost all world media have reported the news in recent days: South Korea signed a maximum contract worth 4.18 trillion won ($3.5 billion) to supply the UAE with an undisclosed number of Iron Eagle intermediate-range air defense missile systems, the second name of KM-SAM.
For South Korea, it was the first major trade to sell air defense systems under the label of Korean manufacturing. South Korean President Moon Jae-in and UAE Prime Minister Mohammed ibn Rashid Al Maktoum made the announcement on January 16 after meeting in Dubai. In mid-November, the UAE Ministry of Defense tweeted about "a Missile Defense System Made in South Korea, as this would be a qualitative complement to existing air defense capabilities."
It is understood that the Iron Eagle-2 is built on the basis of Block-1, developed by the South Korean Defense Development Agency (ADD) in cooperation with the South Korean company LIG Nex1, operated by the South Korean Air Force together with the American Patriot Missile System, which is part of South Korea's multi-level air defense system. Particularly strange is that the Iron Eagle was built with technical support from the Russian Diamond-Aetna and Torch Companies, based on the 9M96 missile technology used with the S-350 and S-400 air defense systems.
The Iron Eagle-2 was originally designed as a missile defense system to counter the growing missile threat, i.e. to meet domestic defense needs. According to South Korean newspapers, the KM-SAM missile defense system is the average of South Korea's three-level air defense and missile defense systems. Although the system was created by Samsung Thales, LIG Nex1i Doosan DST with the help of Russia, South Korea's localization and industrialization are enough to treat the missile as a purely domestic system. The project copied Russia's exported S-350 missiles almost at lightning speed.
S-350
According to U.S. sources, South Korea had a strong interest in buying the S-300 as early as the 1990s. South Korea is prepared to pay for the deal with its outstanding Russian debt. But the Americans insist that South Korea indirectly acquire Russian air defense technology through technology transfers, rather than selling missiles directly.
Ultimately, this led Tonkin, not Russia, to earn $3.5 billion from the wealthy emirate, securing much-needed money to develop a more advanced Iron Eagle-3 missile defense system.
Russia was not wrong in transferring so-called obsolete technology, but eventually handed over the biggest market. But even with partial technology transfer (according to americans), the Iron Eagle system did not pass tests of south Korean military action requirements until 2015, and its mass production began in 2016. Samsung Thales, LIG Nex1i Doosan DST took more than 20 years to make a clone, which was acquired by the Arabs some time later. If Russia had not cooperated with South Korea, it is safe to say that the deal would have been absent.
Overall, the Iron Eagle radar has an impressive range of 100 km radius, a range of 40 km and an altitude of 20 km. However, the emirate made a lot of money for a mediocre alternative to russia's S-350 system, just to not provoke the Star-Spangled Banner.
In fact, emirates have no choice. Although American patriots boast of great power, in Saudi Arabia, there is no Hussey drone and missile, this system is not only "leaking", but also "expensive", and americans can also remotely disable it at any time. So the Turks and Indians, despite their good relations with the United States, only bought the S-400 missile defense system, which was not easy.
Now, given the $3.5 billion deal with the UAE, a domino effect is possible. Originally it was a Russian system, but it sold well in South Korea. Russia, which had fantasized about the UAE making a fortune on S-400 missiles, now seems hopeless. In addition, the Su-75 was originally advertised as the largest customer in the UAE, and as a result, the UAE turned around and bought 80 French Rafales after watching the Su-75, and Russia was angry with old blood.
In other words, the Russian system has a dangerous competitor, and Russia has missed one very necessary agreement after another.
Why does the UAE look up to Korean manufacturing? Because Russia's electronic technology is backward, then this kind of anti-aircraft missile originating from Russia and then modified by South Korea's advanced electronic technology is of course better than blue. Therefore, existence is reasonable, and the UAE is naturally clear.