South Korea Plans $192 Billion Missile Defense Investment

South Korea has submitted a $192.6 billion budget request to its Parliament for the 2014-2018 FY periods.

The budget’s 13.7% increase is emphasized on the establishment of a missile defense shield, and deterrence capability that will consist on ballistic and cruise missiles. This includes procurement of surveillance and early warning satellites and high-altitude, long-endurance (HALE) drones (Global Hawk) in the next five years, according to Yonhap news.

The budget draft also includes the additional purchase of Raytheon’s Patriot PAC-2 missile interceptors and upgrading the current system to PAC-3 to deter enemy missiles.

The budget plan comes as the South Korean military is seeking to enhance its warfare capability to deter Korean allies before it is withdrawn from its wartime operational control in December 2015.

The plan lets the Army to procure the next-generation K-2 battle tank to replace aging K-1 and U.S.-built M48 tanks, and buy large combat helicopters in the next five years. Also lets Navy to build 5,000-ton destroyers, 1,800-ton submarines and landing platform ships to cope with rising tensions in Northeast Asia.

The South Korean Air Force is also allowed to purchase 60 next-generation fighter jets to replace its aging fleet of F-4s and F-5s starting from 2017 as well as large carriers and aerial refueling aircraft to extend the range of its F-15K and KF-16 combat jets.

The South Korean military also plans to adopt the Green Pine early warning and field guided rockets to deter provocations by North Korea.