The Missiles Our Military Possesses

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] South Korea began its missile program in earnest during the era of former President Park Chung-hee. From the late 1960s, as North Korea continued incidents such as the Ulchin-Samcheok armed infiltration, South Korea set the goal of self-reliant defense. In particular, after President Nixon announced the 'Nixon Doctrine' in 1969 and withdrew U.S. troops from South Korea, the program accelerated. At that time, the Agency for Defense Development (ADD) used the cover name 'Hongneung Machinery Industry Company,' which actually produced agricultural machinery.

In November 1971, after the success of the '1st Lightning Project' ordered by former President Park Chung-hee to the ADD, he delivered a handwritten memo to ADD researchers: "Develop a domestically produced surface-to-surface missile with a range of 200 km by 1975." At that time, only six countries worldwide possessed surface-to-surface missile technology. This project, which began under the cover name 'Aviation Industry Promotion Plan,' eventually led to the creation of the Baekgom surface-to-surface missile.

Subsequently, South Korea developed its mainstay domestic Hyunmoo-2 ballistic missile and Hyunmoo-3 cruise missile. The Hyunmoo-2 missile has A, B, and C variants with ranges of 300 to 800 km, but with the removal of missile guidelines, range restrictions were lifted, and missiles with ranges exceeding 800 km are currently under development. Last year, the Hyunmoo-4 missile series with a warhead weight of about 2 tons was also developed. The South Korean military began mass production of the Hyunmoo-4 series missiles this year. The ADD reportedly named the ground-launched surface-to-surface ballistic missile as 'Hyunmoo 4-1,' the ship-launched surface-to-surface ballistic missile as 'Hyunmoo 4-2,' and the submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) as 'Hyunmoo 4-4,' depending on the launch platform. The Hyunmoo 4-1 has a warhead weight of 2 tons and possesses at least three times the penetration power compared to the existing strongest GBU-57. It can penetrate over 24 meters of reinforced concrete and 180 meters of ordinary ground, effectively reaching tactical nuclear-level power. The Hyunmoo 4-2 missile is planned to be mounted on 30,000-ton class light aircraft carriers, and the Hyunmoo 4-4 missile on 3,000-ton class submarines.

At the 74th Armed Forces Day ceremony on the 1st, a video of the Hyunmoo-5(V), a strategic weapon responding to North Korea's nuclear and missile threats, was unveiled for the first time. The Hyunmoo-5 is known to carry the heaviest warhead in the world, weighing 8 to 9 tons, earning it the nickname 'monster missile.'

Until now, Hyunmoo ballistic missiles launched from the ground have used the 'hot launch' method, where the engine ignites directly on the launcher. However, the Hyunmoo-5 uses the 'cold launch' method, where the missile is ejected about 30 meters into the air from a Transporter Erector Launcher (TEL) before the engine ignites. This method, used only by China and Russia, is possible because it uses solid fuel. Amid North Korea's continuous indiscriminate provocations, the military is reportedly considering officially releasing test launch footage of the Hyunmoo-5 high-power ballistic missile with the world's largest warhead weight.

In addition, the Agency for Defense Development (ADD) has been developing a ground-launched hypersonic vehicle exceeding Mach 5 since 2018 and is expected to complete flight tests by 2023. If a Mach 5 hypersonic missile is launched over South Korean airspace, it can reach major North Korean targets within two minutes.

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