PanOrient News | Israeli Missiles to Protect South Korean Border Islands

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Military

Israeli Missiles to Protect South Korean Border Islands

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Seoul- (PanOrient News) South Korea has reached a deal to purchase precision-guided missiles from an Israeli company to protect its western border islands near the tense border with North Korea, a military source told Yonhap News Agency.

"A deal was reached recently to bring in Spike NLOS missiles developed" by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems," the source said. "We should be able to deploy them late next year."

About 50 missiles will be placed on Baengnyeong and Yeonpyeong islands in the Yellow Sea. Two South Korean civilians and two Marines were killed in the North's shelling of Yeonpyeong in November last year.

Spike NLOS missile can hit a target with pinpoint accuracy using Global Positioning System technology. ''The military has been seeking the GPS-guided missiles, rather than those using imaging infrared seekers,'' the source was quoted by Yonhap as saying. ''These latest Spike models will be able to respond to the threat of North Korean artillery.''

The Spike NLOS is known to be capable of hitting North Korea's artillery pieces hidden in mountain caves along the Yellow Sea border, according to Yonhap.
According to Rafael's website, the Spike NLOS is an electro-optically guided missile for ranges of up to 25 km with pinpoint accuracy and midcourse navigation. The weapon system can be launched from land, air and naval platforms.

Equipped with a variety of warheads, RF communication, unique advantages of hitting non-line of site (NLOS) targets, the ability to switch between targets and abort mission, the Spike NLOS can be operated in offensive and defensive scenarios.

Spike NLOS is designed to be integrated into the modern battle arena and can receive target location from an embedded TAS system, external sensors, C4I center or UAVs.

Yonhap said each Spike NLOS costs $300,000.

Since the November shelling by the North, the South has deployed additional troops and high-tech weaponry, such as artillery-detecting radar, bunker-busting bombs and precision air-to-ground missiles, to Yeonpyeong and other Yellow Sea border islands, the report said.

Photo: Spike NLOS. Courtesy of Rafael Advanced Defense Systems.

PanOrient News