Homegrown tactical guided missile passes quality certification test: state agency

SEOUL, May 11 (Yonhap) -- South Korea successfully conducted a live-fire test on a homegrown tactical guided missile for quality certification Thursday, paving the way for its full-scale mass-production later this year, according to a state defense quality management agency.

The Defense Agency for Technology and Quality said the firing of the Korean Tactical Surface-to-Surface Missile (KTSSM), designed to counter enemy artillery threats, took place at a testing facility of the state-run Agency for Defense Development (ADD).

The weapons system was locally developed in 2019 under a project to secure capabilities to conduct precision strikes on North Korean artillery pieces, which put the greater Seoul area within range, at the start of a contingency.

Thursday's test is designed to check the quality of the missile to determine whether to begin the mass-production of the weapon in earnest.

The test-firing followed preparations through a consultative group of experts from the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, the ADD, the Army and the South Korean defense firm Hanwha Aerospace.

sshluck@yna.co.kr
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