▲ A United Arab Emirates' C-17 transport aircraft is parked at an air base in Daegu, some 240 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on June 12, 2026. (Yonhap)

S Korea-UAE-missile system

UAE sends military planes to S. Korea to transport Cheongung missile systems: sources

SEOUL, June 12 (Yonhap) -- The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has sent its military planes to South Korea to expedite the transport of a Korean-made interceptor missile system amid the Middle East conflict, sources said Friday.

The UAE Air Force began sending its C-17 transport aircraft this week to an air base in Daegu, about 240 kilometers southeast of Seoul, to transport multiple batches of the Cheongung interceptor missile system, according to military and defense industry sources.

A C-17 transport aircraft was seen on standby at the Daegu air base Friday, as the UAE reportedly plans to dispatch a total of eight such aircraft to airlift the missile system in successive batches.

The move appears to reflect the UAE's urgent need to bolster its defenses against Iranian attacks by securing additional weapons systems.

Cheongung (M-SAM II), dubbed the Korean version of the U.S-made Patriot missile defense system, is a mid-range surface-to-air guided missile system capable of intercepting hostile missiles at altitudes below 40 kilometers.

It is the second known early transport of the missile system by the UAE. The same UAE transport aircraft was spotted at the Daegu air base in March, just a few weeks after the U.S.-Iran war broke out and reportedly flew back home carrying Cheongung interceptor missiles.

The Cheongung missile systems are known to have successfully hit Iranian targets in the ongoing war.

The Cheongung system consists of four mobile launchers, each loaded with eight missiles, enabling simultaneous engagement of up to 32 interceptors. It also comes with multifunction radar for uninterrupted 360-degree airspace surveillance, which can remotely send signals to an engagement control center.

The UAE signed a US$3.5 billion contract in 2022 to acquire 10 Cheongung batteries, with two of them now in active service.

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