Defense World:
Moscow is lobbying against a South Korean anti-missile and anti-aircraft defense system, the K30 Biho which beat two Russian competitors, the Tunguska-M1 and Pantsir in trials for an Indian procurement program.
A South Korean publication, Joongang Daily reported last week that the bidding was first officially announced in 2013, and the candidate weapons were evaluated throughout 2015 and tested in 2017. The contract involves exporting 104 Biho systems, 97 ammunition carriers, 39 command vehicles, 4,928 missiles and 172,260 rounds of ammunition, bringing the contract’s total value to 3 trillion won ($2.66 billion).
The K30 Biho was developed by Korea’s Agency for Defense Development in 2013 as a short range anti-aircraft and anti-missile system. In the bidding process, it beat out an upgraded Tunguska-M1 model built by the Russian state-owned defense company Almaz-Antey and the Pantsir missile system from the Russian KPB Instrument Design Bureau. The K30 Biho was judged the most capable of dual purpose use as an anti-missile and anti-aircraft defense system, the publication said quoting unnamed sources in the Korean government.
