South Korean Patriot Missile ‘Self destructs’ During Test-fire

A South Korea Patriot surface-to-air missile (PAC-2) exploded seconds after launch at a South Korean firing range last Thursday.

The South Korean Air Force said that The PAC-2 missile ascended for about four seconds after blastoff at the seaside Daecheon range in South Chungcheong Province during an annual air defense guided missile practice, Yonhap News reported quoting an Air Force statement.

The explosion, which happened over the sea, was attributed to the PAC-2 system being programmed to self-destruct in case of an “abnormal” condition. It is not clear if any abnormal condition was detected by the PAC-2’s command and control system.

Seoul has 8 batteries of Patriot/PAC-2 system. April 2014, South Korea’s arms procurement agency approved a $1.3 billion plan to upgrade its PAC-2 air defense system and buy PAC-3 missiles by 2020. It is not known if the exploded missile was a part of a test of the upgraded PAC-2.