[Yang Nak-gyu's Defense Club] Aging Serious Anti-Tank Missiles... Development Stalled

[Asia Economy Reporter Yang Nak-gyu] Although North Korea is accelerating the performance upgrade of its tanks, there are concerns that the development of our military's anti-tank missiles to counter this has been stagnant for 10 years.

According to the military on the 4th, North Korea has a total of 4,300 tanks. The Workers' Red Guard, equivalent to our reserve forces, operates 900 tanks (T-34, M-1985 light tanks), the front and rear corps operate 2,200 tanks (T-54/55), and the tank and mechanized corps operate 950 tanks (five versions of the Cheonma tank). In particular, about 150 Seongunho tanks, which have extended range and high mobility with speeds of around 70 km/h by upgrading existing tank turrets, have been deployed in the tank and mechanized corps. It is also understood that the number of Pokpungho tanks, upgraded from T-62 tanks, has increased significantly. North Korea is reportedly conducting tank upgrade projects at major production facilities such as the Ryugyongsu Tank Factory concentrated in Sihung, South Hamgyong Province.

While North Korea's tank performance has been greatly enhanced, 99.2% of our military's anti-tank weapons are severely outdated. Among the approximately 46,000 anti-tank missiles possessed by the Army, only about 360 have remaining service life. Among the six types of anti-tank weapons, three types?TOW, Panzerfaust (PZF-Ⅲ), and M72 LAW?have completely exhausted their service life. This means that soldiers do not even have the only weapons they can carry to stop tanks.

The Defense Acquisition Program Administration attempted to promote a project in 2013 for domestic defense companies to develop anti-tank weapons. However, insisting on domestic development failed to meet the military's performance requirements (ROC), and as a result, more than 10 years have passed without progress. The Joint Chiefs of Staff plan to decide on a new anti-tank weapon project to replace outdated weapons within this month.

Regarding this, voices inside and outside the military are rising, saying that instead of lowering the military's performance requirements (ROC) for domestic development, the weapons should be adapted to modern warfare.

As the nature of warfare has changed, the targets for short-range anti-tank missiles issued to squad or platoon-level units have diversified to include bunkers, buildings, command posts, and more. Especially since modern warfare centers on urban combat, anti-tank missiles must have backblast control functions. When a short-range anti-tank missile is fired, a strong backblast is emitted from the rear of the launcher. It is a powerful wind capable of breaking trees. In wartime situations, it is practically impossible to fire anti-tank missiles inside buildings. If backblast occurs inside a building, friendly forces are inevitably at risk of damage.

Among the anti-tank missiles used by foreign militaries, there are some well-known weapons. One is the RPG-7, introduced by Russia in 1961. This weapon is currently used by more than 40 countries, and some importing countries produce RPG-7 anti-tank rockets under license. France developed the Eryx in 1989, Germany developed the Panzerfaust (PZF) series in 1987, and Israel is currently developing the Shipon.

The only short-range anti-tank missile without backblast is the Carl Gustaf by Sweden's SAAB. This is why the Carl Gustaf, developed in 1991, is used by over 50 countries including the US Army Rangers and the British Royal Air Force Special Forces.

The greatest advantage of the Carl Gustaf is its firing rate of 5 rounds per minute, allowing continuous firing. Unlike Germany's PZF, which effectively reaches the end of its launcher life after firing only 3 rounds, the Carl Gustaf can fire over 1,000 rounds. It can also fire various types of ammunition: high-explosive anti-personnel rounds, dual-purpose rounds targeting bunkers, multi-purpose rounds and demolition rounds for destroying buildings and structures, illumination rounds, smoke rounds, flechette rounds, and a total of nine types of ammunition. This makes it suitable for infantry in modern warfare who need to attack various targets beyond tanks.

A military official said, "In the case of the next tactical bridge project, which is temporarily installed when a bridge is destroyed during wartime, domestic development failed because it was tailored to the military's high ROC, and it has been stagnant for 20 years. When weapons are severely outdated, it may be advantageous to proceed with overseas direct procurement and receive technology transfer through offset deals."