South Korea will buy Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) shipborne interceptors from the United States to bolster the missile shield against North Korean threats, the state procurement agency said Friday. The SM-3, a ship-based surface-to-air missile system used by the U.S. Navy, is capable of intercepting incoming ballistic missiles at altitudes above 100 kilometers. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said its weapons program review committee approved the plan to acquire the SM-3s through government-to-government foreign military sales by 2030 at an estimated cost of 803.9 billion won (US$583.4 million). The anti-ballistic missile system is expected to be fitted on the South Korean Navy's Aegis destroyers. DAPA also approved a 3.25 trillion-won program to build Ulsan-class Batch-IV frigates by 2032 to replace the aging warship fleet. In addition, it confirmed a 1.57 trillion-won project to develop long-range air-to-air missiles for the homegrown fighter jet KF-21 from 2025 to 2038. Korea Aero space Industries Ltd. has constructed six prototype KF-21s. The first production model is scheduled to be delivered to the Air Force in the latter half of 2026. Source: Yonhap News Agency