Breaking News
LIG Nex1 Leads South Korea’s Domestic Short-Range Air-to-Air Missile Program for KF-21 Fighter Jet.
South Korean defense firm LIG Nex1 has secured a development contract to integrate a domestically produced short-range air-to-air missile onto the KF-21 Boramae fighter. The deal supports Seoul’s push to reduce reliance on foreign weapons while strengthening the combat credibility of its next-generation aircraft.
On December 24, 2025, according to BusinessKorea and an official disclosure on Korea’s DART financial reporting system, LIG Nex1 announced that it had signed a key development contract for the “Short-Range Air-to-Air Guided Missile-II System Development – System Integration and Guided Missile Integration Prototype” project. The program, supervised by the Agency for Defense Development (ADD), aims to provide the KF-21 Boramae fighter with domestically developed short-range air-to-air missiles and thus reduce dependence on foreign weapons suppliers. This announcement comes as Seoul seeks to consolidate a fully Korean ecosystem of air-launched weapons around its new fighter, a move that is closely watched by regional air forces and the global defense market. The contract is therefore significant both as an operational enabler for the KF-21 and as a signal of South Korea’s broader industrial and strategic ambitions.
LIG Nex1’s new development contract moves South Korea closer to fielding a fully indigenous short-range air-to-air missile capability on the KF-21 Boramae fighter, reinforcing both combat readiness and defense self-reliance (Picture Source: LIG Nex1 / MBDA)
According to BusinessKorea, LIG Nex1’s new role covers system integration for the SRAAM-II, the development of a guided-missile integration prototype and the design of critical subsystems such as the imaging infrared seeker, the guidance and control unit, the inertial navigation system and the actuators, with work scheduled through 2032. These functions largely determine a short-range missile’s ability to acquire targets, resist countermeasures and maneuver at high off-boresight angles during dogfights. ADD will oversee the program, while the missile is intended to be mounted on the KF-21’s short-range weapon stations, complementing long-range air-to-air and air-to-ground munitions already in development. In industrial terms, the contract confirms LIG Nex1 as the prime architect for the missile’s “intelligent” core, leveraging its experience in seekers and guidance gained on systems such as the Cheongung/M-SAM family and other precision-guided weapons.
Korea’s DART financial reporting filing, under the heading “Conclusion of Single Sales Contract or Supply Contract,” presents a detailed financial portrait of this new deal. It classifies the agreement as “other sales or supply contracts” and identifies the Agency for Defense Development as the counterparty, with the Republic of Korea listed as the market served. The contract amount disclosed for LIG Nex1 is 124,270,000,001 won, which represents 3.79 percent of the company’s consolidated sales for fiscal year 2024, reported at 3,276,339,508,425 won. The contract period runs from December 24, 2025 to November 30, 2032, with the effective date of orders set on the same day as the announcement.
The notice specifies that a deposit or advance payment will be made and that settlement will follow the rules governing advance and intermediate payments for the defense industry, while also stressing that both the amount and the period of the contract may change over time and that the disclosed amount excludes value-added tax. These elements underline that the project is both financially significant for LIG Nex1 and structured as a long-term, phased effort, giving the company multi-year revenue visibility while leaving room for adjustments as development progresses.
The regulatory disclosure shows that the 124.27-billion-won contract reported on DART corresponds to a substantial work package within the broader 207-billion-won missile development effort highlighted by BusinessKorea, likely covering the integration and prototype phase entrusted specifically to LIG Nex1. On the operational side, the future Short-Range Air-to-Air Guided Missile-II will give the KF-21 a domestically developed dogfight weapon closely tied to Korean sensors, mission computers and, in time, helmet-mounted sights and infrared search-and-track systems. Because guidance software, seeker algorithms and target libraries will be under national control, the Republic of Korea Air Force will be able to adapt the missile’s performance and counter-countermeasure profiles without depending on foreign approvals, an important advantage in a rapidly changing regional threat environment.
From a military standpoint, the future SRAAM-II is expected to give the KF-21 a sovereign short-range air-to-air capability tightly integrated with Korean-developed sensors and mission systems. An imaging infrared seeker and modern guidance architecture should enable high-agility, within-visual-range engagements, improved resistance to flares and decoys and seamless cueing from the aircraft’s radar, helmet-mounted sight and, later on, infrared search-and-track systems. Because the missile is being designed and integrated domestically, the Republic of Korea Air Force will have greater freedom to adapt software, update threat libraries and interface the weapon with national command-and-control networks without having to pass through foreign export-control processes. In a crisis where access to imported munitions could be delayed by political decisions abroad, the existence of a home-grown, DART-documented program for a key air-superiority weapon reduces vulnerability and strengthens deterrence.
Strategically, the SRAAM-II contract reinforces South Korea’s course toward greater defense autonomy and export capacity. The KF-21 is positioned not only as a replacement for aging F-4 and F-5 fighters but also as an export platform aimed at regional air forces in Asia and the Middle East. Offering the aircraft together with a suite of Korean-made missiles, long-range air-to-ground weapons, medium-range missiles and now a short-range dogfight missile, makes the package more attractive to countries seeking to minimize third-party vetoes on armament sales. The long contract period disclosed on DART, stretching until late 2032, indicates that Seoul views the SRAAM-II not as a one-off procurement but as the foundation of a sustained capability and export offering which could generate follow-on orders, upgrades and technology spin-offs in fields such as seekers, actuators and advanced guidance algorithms.
The BusinessKorea report and the DART disclosure show that LIG Nex1’s short-range air-to-air missile program has moved from concept to a binding, long-term contract that is material for both the company’s balance sheet and the Republic of Korea’s air-combat posture. By anchoring the SRAAM-II development in a regulated, multi-year agreement with ADD and by publicly detailing its value, duration and payment structure, Seoul is sending a clear message: the KF-21 will be supported by a domestic missile ecosystem, and South Korea intends to occupy a durable position among the world’s producers of high-end air-to-air weapons.
Written by Teoman S. Nicanci – Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Teoman S. Nicanci holds degrees in Political Science, Comparative and International Politics, and International Relations and Diplomacy from leading Belgian universities, with research focused on Russian strategic behavior, defense technology, and modern warfare. He is a defense analyst at Army Recognition, specializing in the global defense industry, military armament, and emerging defense technologies.