[Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club] Why Did North Korea Develop a New Surface-to-Air Missile?

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] North Korea announced that it test-fired a new type of anti-aircraft (surface-to-air) missile on the 30th of last month. It appears that North Korea is replacing its aging surface-to-air missiles, which were imported from Russia, with domestic missiles.

Korean Central News Agency reported, "The National Defense Science Institute conducted the test launch on September 30 with the purpose of verifying the comprehensive combat performance of the newly developed anti-aircraft missile, as well as the operational practicality of the launcher, detector, and integrated combat command vehicle."

The National Defense Science Institute claimed regarding this test launch, "With the introduction of important new technologies such as dual control technology and a dual impulse flight engine (pulse motor), the missile control system's responsiveness and guidance accuracy, as well as the aerial target destruction range, have been greatly increased, verifying the remarkable combat performance of the new anti-aircraft missile." North Korea had previously revealed a new surface-to-air missile vehicle equipped with four launch tubes at the military parade commemorating the 8th Congress of the Workers' Party in January.

It is known that North Korea has established a quadruple air defense system around Pyongyang to deter the combined air forces of South Korea and the United States. The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has also evaluated North Korea's air defense network density as among the highest in the world.

The surface-to-air missiles recently possessed by North Korea include the SA-5 (Gammon, high altitude) with a maximum range of 260?300 km, the SA-3 (Goa, low to medium altitude) with a maximum range of 13?35 km, and the SA-2 (Guideline, medium to high altitude) with a maximum range of 48 km. It is estimated that there are about 40 SA-5 units, 140 SA-3 units, and 180 SA-2 units. The SA-2 and SA-5 are mainly deployed in the front and eastern and western regions.

The SA-2, developed by the former Soviet Union, was first deployed in combat in 1957. It gained fame by shooting down the U.S. high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft 'U-2' over Soviet territory during the Cold War. It was also widely used by North Vietnamese forces during the Vietnam War, gaining notoriety for downing numerous U.S. military aircraft. However, experts believe that since the SA-2 missile was developed over 50 years ago, it does not pose a significant threat to the combined air forces of South Korea and the United States. North Korea also deploys it mainly in rear areas.

Additionally, North Korea possesses portable surface-to-air missiles such as the SA-7 (maximum range 3.7 km) and SA-16 (4.5 km). Portable surface-to-air missiles detect infrared emissions from targets like fighter jets and automatically track them. Due to their short flight range, they are mainly deployed in the Pyongyang area and frontline combat units.

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