[Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club] If the North Launches at a Low Angle Like Iran's Missile... Is Defense Possible?

[Asia Economy Reporter Yang Nak-gyu] If North Korea launches ballistic missiles at a low angle like Iran, can our military defend against them? On the 8th (local time), Iran attacked U.S. military bases in Iraq, seemingly launching ballistic missiles at a low angle to evade air defense systems. North Korea has also recently conducted several test launches of ballistic missiles at low angles, raising interest in whether our military's interception systems can counter low-angle missile launches.

According to foreign media on the 9th, the missiles launched by Iran are likely short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) such as the Qiam-1 (liquid-fueled, range 800 km) and Fateh-110 (solid-fueled, range 400 km). These missiles have close ties to North Korea. Military experts say the Qiam-1 is a domestically produced model imported from North Korea's Scud-C missile, and the Fateh-110 is presumed to be a missile exported to North Korea.

Military experts are paying close attention to the fact that the ballistic missiles launched by Iran were fired at a lower angle than the normal trajectory. Launching ballistic missiles at a low angle shortens their range but can place them in the blind spots of interception systems.

North Korea is also exploiting this point. In May last year alone, North Korea launched ballistic missiles at low angles four times. On May 4, one missile was launched at an altitude of about 60 km (range about 240 km); on May 9, two missiles at altitudes of 45?50 km (range 270?420 km); on May 25, two missiles at about 50 km altitude (range 600 km); and six days later on May 31, two missiles were launched at an altitude of 30 km. All these missiles were North Korean Iskander-class KN-23 ballistic missiles.

Professor Jang Young-geun of the Department of Aerospace Mechanical Engineering at Korea Aerospace University said, "If North Korea lowers the peak altitude of ballistic missiles to below 50 km, it becomes difficult to intercept them even with Patriot interceptor missiles," adding, "North Korea will develop technologies to evade the Korean Air and Missile Defense (KAMD) system."

In response, the military claims that North Korean Iskander-class missiles can be sufficiently intercepted by Patriot missiles.

Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo emphasized in a keynote speech at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses (KIDA) Defense Forum in July last year, "North Korea's missiles fall within the interception performance range of our defense assets," and "projects such as military reconnaissance satellites are currently underway, so we have sufficient defense capabilities."

U.S. media have assessed that the failure to intercept Iran's missiles was due to the high dud rate of Iranian missiles and the absence of Patriot missiles deployed at the U.S. military bases in Iraq that were attacked. ABC News reported that about 25% of the missiles launched by Iran were 'duds.' Additionally, Fox News reported that the U.S. military bases attacked by Iran did not have MIM-104 Patriot surface-to-air missiles equipped with PAC-3 interceptors designed for ballistic missile defense.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.