Korea and United States have decided on March 6 (Tuesday) to cooperate in developing guided air-launched rockets.

The two nations signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) which represents the decision of cooperation in developing guided rockets with 2.75-inch diameter, according to the Korean Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA).

The guided rocket is designed to attack a target on the ground from a helicopter with an infrared image detector and a guidance system.

The guided rocket is expected to be used to intercept a boat moving at high speed or Patrol Killer Medium (PKM). The guided rocket can follow a running PKM within 5km at over Mach 2.0 and strike it.

The budget for this project is more than 60 million dollars. ¡°Korea will bear only several million won and the U.S. will be responsible for the rest amount,¡± an official of DAPA said. ¡°The guided rockets are expected to be used in U.S. Navy, not South Korean Navy.¡±

He continued ¡°The allies will cooperate in development of running gear, guidance system, and detector on the base of LOGIR (Low-cost Guided Imaging Rocket).¡±
¡°This project is the first cooperating development and we will expand the international cooperating development of guided weapons,¡±he added.