South Korea's state arms procurement agency signed a 30 billion-won ($23 million) contract with a local firm Monday to develop an advanced counter-artillery radar system by 2026, officials said.

The Defense Acquisition Program Administration inked the deal with LIG Nex1 for the project aimed at replacing aging radars used by the Army and the Marine Corps -- the TPQ-36 and 37.

The project seeks to develop a radar with enhanced capabilities, such as simultaneously detecting twice the number of targets as those detected by existing radars, and reducing its deployment time by 66 percent and withdrawal time by 33 percent.

DAPA said it plans to start deploying some 20 units of the envisioned radar in the late-2020s to division-level Army and Marine units.

"Through this project, our military will be able to secure an eye that will make it capable of detecting the origin of enemy artillery pieces more rapidly and locating them more accurately," a DAPA official was quoted as saying in a press release. (Yonhap)