[Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club] SLBM Launch Success... Next Target Is

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] South Korea has become the seventh country in the world to possess submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) after successfully conducting a submarine launch test of its domestically developed SLBM. Currently, only six countries? the United States, Russia, China, the United Kingdom, France, and India?operate this weapons system.

The launch test was conducted from the Dosan Ahn Changho-class submarine (3,000 tons), which was delivered to the Navy on August 13, and the missile was launched underwater, flying the planned range and accurately hitting the target point.

To operationalize SLBMs on submarines, a three-stage testing process has been carried out: ground ejection test, underwater ejection test, and launch from the submarine. The military also completed verification of the SLBM’s core ‘cold launch’ technology (a cold launch system where the missile is pushed out of the launch tube by air pressure before the engine ignites) during this test.

The SLBM was publicly revealed on this day because President Moon Jae-in has emphasized ‘self-reliant defense.’ Once the military officially deploys the SLBM, it can highlight the fact that, following the termination of the South Korea-U.S. missile guidelines in May, ballistic missiles can be developed regardless of range.

The SLBM mounted on the Ahn Changho-class submarine is the Hyunmoo 4 series missile developed by the Agency for Defense Development (ADD), known as ‘4-4.’ The military plans to begin full-scale mass production of the Hyunmoo 4-4 missile after SLBM operationalization.

The Ahn Changho-class submarine carries a total of six SLBMs. Submarines are categorized into Batch I, II, and III according to performance upgrades; the Ahn Changho-class is Batch I, and future upgraded submarines, Batch II and III, are expected to carry 10 missiles each.

Recently, the military signed a contract with Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering to build the Batch II 3,600-ton Jangbogo-III-class submarine, equipped with 10 vertical launch tubes for SLBMs.

The 3,600-ton Batch II submarine is a diesel-powered submarine measuring 89 meters in length and 9.6 meters in width. It is not only heavier but also approximately 5.5 meters longer than the Batch I lead ship, the Dosan Ahn Changho-class submarine (3,000 tons), recently delivered to the Navy. Notably, the Batch I submarine is equipped with six vertical launch tubes for SLBMs, while the longer Batch II submarine is expected to have up to 10 launch tubes. However, the military has not officially disclosed whether the SLBM launch tubes will be installed.

The target for operationalizing the 3,600-ton submarine is 2027. The second ship, for which the construction contract was signed this time, is scheduled to complete construction in 2026 and be delivered to the Navy in 2028.

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