South Korean officials voiced satisfaction Thursday with the battlefield performance of the Cheongung-II air defense system sold to the United Arab Emirates, after a South Korean lawmaker said the system had intercepted incoming missiles at a reported 96% success rate during the war with Iran.
The remarks marked the system’s first known combat test and came as the UAE has faced repeated Iranian missile and drone attacks during the regional conflict.
Yu Yong-weon, a member of South Korea’s National Assembly defense committee, told CNN that the system’s performance had been especially notable given the complexity of the attacks, which included both drones and ballistic missiles.
“In the recent large-scale complex attack situation involving numerous drones and irregular-maneuver ballistic missiles, it is hard to find a case where the overall interception rate exceeded 90%,” Yoo said, according to the report. He added that about 60 interceptors had so far been fired from two Cheongung-II batteries deployed in the UAE.
The Cheongung-II, also known as KM-SAM Block II, is a medium-range air defense system often described in South Korea as a domestic counterpart to the United States' Patriot system. Reporting on the system’s specifications has varied, but defense publications say it is designed to intercept aircraft and missiles at medium range and at altitudes broadly in the low- to mid-tier air defense envelope.
The UAE was the first foreign buyer of the system under a multibillion-dollar deal announced in 2022, and South Korea has since marketed it aggressively across the Middle East.
The UAE also operates U.S.-made Patriot and THAAD systems as part of its layered air defenses. Reports in defense media have also said the Gulf state has acquired Israeli-made Barak air defense systems, though that was not immediately confirmed by officials in Abu Dhabi. Beyond the UAE, Cheongung-II has also been deployed in Saudi Arabia and Iraq, according to defense reports.
The praise from Seoul came after days in which the UAE has been among the Gulf states hardest hit by the war’s spillover. Residents in Dubai and Abu Dhabi were jolted on March 1 by missile and drone attacks and falling debris after Iran retaliated against U.S. and Israeli strikes. Subsequent attacks and disruptions have included missile and drone alerts, strikes near Dubai airport and wider damage to shipping and infrastructure across the Gulf.
Data compiled by conflict monitors and Gulf officials have indicated that the UAE absorbed one of the heaviest volumes of Iranian fire among Gulf states in the opening days of the war.
South Korea has also moved to reinforce the Emirati shield. Defense trade publications reported this week that Seoul agreed to send additional Cheongung-II interceptors to the UAE after an emergency request due to the speed with which the deployed batteries were burning through missiles under intense attacks.