[Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club] 'Ballistic Missile 3-Piece Set' to Be Released

ADD Reports to Defense Minister Suh Wook This Week on Hyeonmu-4 Series... First Ballistic Missile for Naval Power

Hyeonmu-2.

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] It has been reported that our military has completed the development of a 'set of three ballistic missiles' with significantly increased range and warhead weight. Ballistic missiles, which exit the atmosphere and then descend, have greater destructive power and higher speed compared to low-flying cruise missiles. Defense against them requires interceptor missiles like THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense), but North Korea lacks such interception capabilities.

According to multiple government officials on the 20th, on the 23rd, Defense Minister Seo Wook will visit the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (ADD) headquarters in Daejeon to receive a briefing on the development progress of the three ballistic missiles. After the Moon Jae-in administration took office in 2017, the revision of the South Korea-US missile guidelines removed restrictions on range and warhead weight, prompting the development of more powerful ballistic missiles. ADD has reportedly named the ground-launched ballistic missile as 'Hyunmoo 4-1', the ship-launched ballistic missile as 'Hyunmoo 4-2', and the submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) as 'Hyunmoo 4-4', depending on the launch platform.

Hyunmoo 4-1 has a warhead weight of 2 tons (t), providing at least three times the penetration power compared to the currently strongest GBU-57. It can penetrate over 24 meters of reinforced concrete and 180 meters of regular ground, effectively reaching tactical nuclear-level destructive 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 the 3,000-ton class submarine Dosan Ahn Changho.

Until now, the Navy has equipped ships such as the Korean Destroyer (DDH II, 4,400t class) with cruise missiles like 'Haeseong 2' or 'Cheonryong', and the 214-class submarines with the cruise missile 'Haeseong 3'. With the development of Hyunmoo 4-2 and 4-4 nearing completion, the Navy has converted the Dosan Ahn Changho submarine's launch system from a horizontal launcher to a vertical launcher to accommodate SLBM deployment.