[Exclusive] First SLBM Launch from Anchangho Ship on the 2nd of Next Month

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] The first 3000-ton class submarine ‘Dosan Ahn Changho’ designed and built with domestic technology will test fire a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) on the 2nd of next month. If the test launch is successful, South Korea will become the 8th country in the world to develop SLBM technology. North Korea is also included among these eight countries.

According to government officials on the 31st, the SLBM launch originally scheduled for that day was postponed to the 2nd of next month due to bad weather. First, one SLBM will be test-fired on the 2nd, and if successful, two consecutive launches will be tested two weeks later.

To fully succeed in the SLBM test launch, a total of three stages must be completed. Our military has already completed the first and second stages of the test launch. The first stage, the ‘ground ejection test,’ involved launching the SLBM from the ground, and the second stage, the ‘underwater ejection test,’ involved launching it in shallow water using a barge instead of a submarine; both were completed at the end of last year. Only the third stage, which is conducted from an actual submarine, remains.

For the third stage test, the Ahn Changho, currently docked at Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering in Geoje, Gyeongnam, will move to the sea in front of the Anheung Test Site of the Agency for Defense Development (ADD) in Taean, Chungnam, once the weather improves. From there, the Ahn Changho will launch the SLBM in the direction of Ieodo, southwest of Jeju Island.

The target range is 500 km. Through this test launch, the military plans to conduct a final check on the core ‘cold launch’ technology (a cold launch system where the missile is pushed out of the launch tube by air pressure before the engine ignites). The SLBM equipped on the Ahn Changho is the Hyunmoo 4 series missile developed by ADD, named 4-4.

SLBMs are representative strategic weapons launched from hard-to-detect submarines and have great destructive power, earning them the reputation of being a ‘game changer’ that can alter the course of the battlefield.

The Ahn Changho carries a total of six SLBMs. Submarines are divided into batch 1, 2, and 3 according to performance upgrades; the Ahn Changho is batch 1, and future upgraded submarines, batch 2 and 3, are expected to carry 10 missiles each.

North Korea has also been focusing on SLBM development. North Korea has successfully test-fired the Pukguksong-1 (maximum range 1300 km) and Pukguksong-3 (maximum range about 2000 km) SLBMs. At the military parade in October last year, the Pukguksong-4s (Siot) SLBM was unveiled for the first time; compared to the Pukguksong-3 (diameter 1.5 m), it has a larger diameter (1.8 m), and it is expected to carry multiple warheads in the mid-to-long term.