[Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club] What Are the 'Ultra-High Performance, High-Power Weapons' Mentioned by Yoon?

by Yang Nakgyu

Published 19 Apr.2023 11:21(KST)

Updated 19 Apr.2023 11:38(KST)

President Yoon Suk-yeol has announced plans to "develop ultra-high-performance and high-output weapons" in response to the increasingly intense threats from North Korea, drawing significant attention to the newly developed weapons. The ultra-high-performance and high-output weapons mentioned by President Yoon are believed to be the Hyunmoo series ballistic missiles, electromagnetic pulse (EMP) bombs, and blackout bombs.

[Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club] What Are the 'Ultra-High Performance, High-Power Weapons' Mentioned by Yoon?

The Ministry of National Defense also published the ‘2022 Defense White Paper’ this year, stating plans to newly acquire tactical surface-to-surface guided weapons, high-power missiles, 5th generation fighter jets, long-range air-to-ground guided missiles, blackout bombs, and electromagnetic pulse (EMP) bombs.

Our military aims to develop the ‘Hyunmoo-5 ballistic missile’ within the first half of this year. The Hyunmoo-5 ballistic missile is known as a ‘monster missile’ due to having one of the largest warhead weights in the world and is classified as a tactical nuclear weapon-level missile. The military revealed flight footage of the Hyunmoo-5 missile during last year’s Armed Forces Day ceremony. The Hyunmoo-5 is designed to carry an 8-ton warhead, ascend to the exosphere (altitude of 500 to 1000 km), and then descend at speeds exceeding Mach 10. It can destroy command and strategic targets located in tunnels deeper than 100 meters underground.

Possibility of ‘High-Power Missiles, Blackout Bombs, and EMP Bombs’ Mentioned in This Year’s Defense White Paper

Due to the extremely large warhead weight of the Hyunmoo-5, its launch method differs from previous models. Until now, Hyunmoo missiles have used a ‘hot launch’ method, where the engine ignites directly for launch. However, if the Hyunmoo-5 were launched this way, the engine’s immense power could melt the launch platform. Therefore, the Hyunmoo-5 uses a ‘cold launch’ method, where it is ejected about 30 meters into the air from a Transporter Erector Launcher (TEL) before the engine ignites for launch.

EMP bombs are also reported to have been deployed in actual combat. Our military began developing EMP bombs in 1999. On January 3, 2018, it was announced that the Agency for Defense Development (ADD) had completed the test development of an EMP attack device with an effective range of 1 km. It is estimated that EMP weapons with ranges of 1 to 5 km are currently in the deployment phase.

In the United States, plans are underway to deploy a package of hypersonic missile defense systems, including the Hypersonic and Ballistic Tracking Space Sensor (HBTSS) based on small satellites equipped with sensors for tracking hypersonic missiles, the Glide Phase Interceptor (GPI) hypersonic missile interception system, and the high-power microwave weapon (HPMW) designed to destroy internal electronic equipment of missiles once development is completed.