Explosion During Cheongung Flight in First Firing
Error Detected in Patriot Interceptor Missile
Cheongung-II battery operators controlling the launcher and sharing the operational situation [Photo by Republic of Korea Air Force]
[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Hee-jun] The Air Force has decided to cancel the guided missile shooting competition to minimize power gaps in response to North Korea's continuous provocations.
The Air Force announced on the 7th that it would cancel the second round of the 2022 guided missile shooting competition scheduled for the 9th.
An Air Force official explained, "This is to ensure thorough readiness in light of the ongoing provocations by North Korea," adding, "It is a measure to minimize power gaps that may occur during the deployment and return process of air defense forces."
Originally, the Air Force planned to hold the competition in two rounds on the 2nd and 9th of this month at the Daecheon Shooting Range in Boryeong, Chungnam. However, during the first round on the 2nd, one domestically produced medium-range guided weapon, 'Cheongung,' exploded mid-flight, and a Patriot (PAC2) interceptor missile was not launched due to an error detected just before firing.
On the following day, the 3rd, the Air Force stated that if safety was confirmed, the schedule for the 9th would proceed as planned. However, without special explanation regarding safety confirmation, they announced the cancellation to reduce power movements related to the competition amid ongoing North Korean provocations.
An Air Force F-15K fighter jet is launching a SLAM-ER long-range air-to-ground missile north of the Northern Limit Line (NLL) over the East Sea on the 2nd. [Photo by Joint Chiefs of Staff]
As North Korea escalates provocations day by day, cases where our military's core weapon systems fail to function properly continue.
According to military authorities, on the 2nd, in response to a short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) fired by North Korea crossing the Northern Limit Line (NLL) in the East Sea, an error occurred during the process of our military firing air-to-ground missiles north of the NLL.
At that time, the military announced that a total of three missiles were fired: one Spice 2000 guided bomb from a KF-16 fighter and two Slam-ER long-range air-to-ground missiles from an F-15K fighter. However, the response did not go as planned. For the Spice 2000, two bombs were originally planned to be fired, but after the first successful launch, an error occurred during the target setting process for the second bomb, preventing its launch.
Furthermore, the original plan was for one F-15K to fire two Slam-ER missiles, but one missile was not launched, so a following reserve aircraft had to fire one missile. The military suspects that the missile that failed to launch had a problem during the mounting process.
Earlier, on the 4th of last month, a more serious accident occurred in the Army. In response to an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) fired by North Korea, the Hyunmoo-2C ballistic missile fired by our military flew abnormally right after launch and fell inside a military base in the opposite direction of the planned trajectory.
The missile fell near the base's golf course, and although rain prevented a fire from spreading, if it had fallen on civilian houses or barracks, a major casualty incident could have been feared. On the following early morning, one of two ATACMS tactical surface-to-surface missiles fired by the military as a counterattack lost tracking signals during flight.
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