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Will South Korea’s ‘Goldilocks’ missile dent China’s Middle East arms ambitions?

South Korea’s combat-proven, interoperable and geopolitically accessible surface-to-air missiles could hinder China’s efforts to sell its own defence systems to the Middle East, analysts have…

By Samantha Johnson / April 17, 2026

South Korea’s combat-proven, interoperable and geopolitically accessible surface-to-air missiles could hinder China’s efforts to sell its own defence systems to the Middle East, analysts have suggested.

The US-Israel war on Iran has been marked by tit-for-tat missile and drone attacks across the Persian Gulf states, driving a surge in demand for surface-to-air missiles to defend against incoming Iranian aerial threats.

According to a study by the Foreign Policy Research Institute, a Philadelphia-based think tank, more than 5,000 munitions were fired in the first 96 hours of the armed conflict, including about one-third of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) missiles operated by Gulf states.

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As the war has continued, a shortage of surface-to-air missiles has pushed Washington to relocate to the Middle East parts of its air-defence systems deployed elsewhere in the world, such as its THAAD and Patriot systems in South Korea.

South Korea may see US missiles move to Middle East

South Korea may see US missiles move to Middle East

The South Korean-made medium-range surface-to-air missile Cheongung-II, known as M-SAM, was also involved in defending against Iranian attacks. Two of its batteries are operated by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), following the 2022 acquisition of 10 batteries under a US$3.5 billion deal.

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