[Exclusive] All 3 Stages of SLBM Tests Successful... Official Deployment of Power on the 15th Confirmed

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] Our military will officially declare on the 15th that it has become the world's eighth country to possess submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBM). It has been confirmed that all three phases of test launches for this have already been successfully completed.

According to government officials on the 7th, the military plans to officially announce the operational deployment of SLBMs in the waters off the Anheung Test Site in Taean, Chungnam, on the 15th, with key military leadership including Defense Minister Seo Wook and Park Jong-seung, Director of the Agency for Defense Development (ADD), in attendance.

The successful deployment of SLBMs on submarines is verified through a total of three test phases: ground ejection test, underwater ejection test, and launch from a submarine. The military successfully completed the final phase of launching an SLBM from a submarine earlier this month. At that time, they also completed verification of the SLBM’s 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).

Accordingly, the military will hold a declaration ceremony on the 15th (or the 16th in case of bad weather) and plans to conduct an additional SLBM launch from the Anheung Test Site toward Ieodo, south of Jeju Island, to publicly announce this achievement. This will officially confirm the status as the world’s eighth SLBM-possessing country.

Originally, the SLBM unveiling was scheduled for the end of this year, but since President Moon Jae-in has emphasized ‘self-reliant defense,’ there was no reason to delay. In a memorial speech at the funeral of General Hong Beom-do on the 18th of last month, President Moon stated, "Self-reliant defense has been our earnest dream for the past 100 years," and mentioned, "The Navy has become an ocean-going navy operating over 150 vessels." Once the military formalizes the deployment of SLBMs, it can also highlight that, following the termination of the South Korea-US missile guidelines in May, it is now able to develop ballistic missiles regardless of range.

The SLBMs mounted on the ROKS An Chang-ho are the Hyunmoo 4 series missiles developed by the ADD, referred to as ‘4-4.’ After operational deployment of SLBMs, the military plans to begin full-scale mass production of the Hyunmoo 4-4 missiles. On the 2nd, the Ministry of National Defense announced the ‘22-26 Defense Mid-term Plan,’ outlining military force construction and operation/maintenance plans for the next five years, stating it will "continue to secure medium-sized submarines capable of precision strikes to destroy strategic land targets from the sea."

The ROKS An Chang-ho carries a total of six SLBMs. Submarines are categorized into batches 1, 2, and 3 based on performance upgrades; the An Chang-ho is batch 1, and the batch 2 and 3 submarines, which will be upgraded in the future, are each expected to carry 10 missiles.

Notably, the batch 3 submarine is highly likely to be a Korean-type nuclear-powered submarine. It is known that the military finalized the operational requirements capability (ROC) for the nuclear-powered submarine earlier this year. ROC defines the performance range of the weapon system, which essentially means that the construction of a nuclear-powered submarine has been decided within the military. If the batch 3 submarine is built as a nuclear-powered submarine, it will be able to operate underwater for longer periods than existing submarines, making it a significant threat from the enemy’s perspective. Furthermore, increasing the ballistic missile payload weight will enhance destructive power, potentially serving as a ‘game changer’ that can alter the battlefield dynamics.