South Korea has received its initial shipment of U.S.-built Patriot missile interceptors purchased from Germany, the Asian nation's air force announced Friday (see GSN, Sept. 16).
Seoul said earlier that it planned to purchase 48 Patriot Advanced Capability 2 missile interceptors, but the air force did not specify how many had been delivered, Agence France-Presse reported.
South Korea received the shipment in August, but tested the weapons before declaring them formally delivered, AFP reported.
The South Korean air force is expected to spend $710 million to field two Patriot missile battalions by 2010. The Patriot interceptors would replace the country's Nike air defenses, the air force said in a statement (Agence France-Presse/Google News, Nov. 28).