The Hyunmoo-3 is a supersonic cruise missile fielded by the South Korean military designed by Agency for Defense Development (ADD). The name Hyunmoo (Korean: 현무) comes from the mythical Black Tortoise (Chinese: 玄武)[4] described as the "Guardian of the Northern Sky", perhaps hinting North Korea.
| Hyunmoo-3 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Long-range, all-weather cruise missile Land-attack missile Surface-to-surface missile Submarine-launched cruise missile |
| Place of origin | South Korea |
| Service history | |
| In service | 2006-present (3A)[1] 2009-present (3B)[1] 2012-present (3C)[1] |
| Used by | Republic of Korea Army Republic of Korea Navy |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Agency for Defense Development LIG Nex1 |
| Manufacturer | LIG Nex1, Hanwha Techwin Samsung for engine |
| Variants | Hyunmoo-3A Hyunmoo-3B Hyunmoo-3C Hyunmoo-3D |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 1.5 tons (3A)[2] |
| Length | 6 meters (19 feet) (3A)[2] |
| Diameter | 0.53-0.60 m[1] |
| Warhead | Conventional: 500 kg conventional explosive |
| Engine | Samsung Hanwha Techwin (or Daewoo Doosan) (SSM-760K ?) turbofan[2] |
Operational range | Hyunmoo-3A - 500 km Hyunmoo-3B - 1,000 km Hyunmoo-3C - 1,500 km Hyunmoo-3D - 3,000 km |
| Maximum speed | Mach 1.2 [3] |
Guidance system | INS, GPS, Terrain Contour Matching[2][4] |
Design and development
editAs a signatory of the multilateral Missile Technology Control Regime, South Korea agrees to refrain from importing a non-indigenous ballistic missile with a warhead larger than 500 kg, or a range of more than 300 km.[5] Historically a bilateral agreement between the ROK and US additionally limited indigenous South Korean produced missiles in both range and warhead size. Therefore, heavy emphasis was put on developing long-range cruise missiles by the South Korean government. With the introduction of Hyunmoo-3, the Republic of Korea Army created the Missile Command in order to efficiently manage these missiles.
Despite the name, the Hyunmoo-3 bears no resemblance to the previous Hyunmoo SSM, which were improved versions of Nike Hercules surface-to-air missiles that were converted into short-range high-speed surface-to-surface ballistic missiles in response to North Korea's Scud-B and Nodong-1 missile threats. Instead, the new missile's designs are strikingly similar to the United States Tomahawk cruise missile. It is powered by a turbofan engine, and has a maximum payload of 500 kilograms (1,100 lb) of conventional explosive. The guidance systems consist of inertial guidance system and global positioning system.
Variants
editHyunmoo-3A, which was nicknamed "Eagle-1" (독수리-1) during the testing, has a range of 500 km, while Hyunmoo-3B, nicknamed "Eagle-2" (독수리-2) Cheonryong (천룡 순항 미사일), has a range of 1,000 kilometres (620 mi). Hyunmoo-3C, or "Eagle-3" (독수리-3), will be capable of striking its target up to 1,500 km (930 mi) away. This is a significant improvement from Hyunmoo I which had a range of 180 km (110 mi) and Hyunmoo-2A, which only has a range of 300 km (190 mi), both of which were ballistic and not cruise missiles.
Sejong the Great-class destroyers and KSS-III-class submarines will be equipped with these Chonryong[6][7] submarine-launched cruise missiles inside their K-VLS cells.[2]
A Hyunmoo-3B air-launched cruise missile with over 500 km (310 mi) range exists and it is called Boramae.[2][7][6]
A submarine-launched cruise missile called the Haeseong III is designed to be launched underwater from submarines.[8] It is actually the designation for the Hyunmoo-3 cruise missile when launched from a submarine and is unrelated to the SSM-700K Haeseong missile design.[9]
Operators
edit
South Korea
- Chungmugong Yi Sun-sin-class destroyer (KDX-II)[10]
- Sejong the Great-class destroyer (KDX-III)[11]
- Son Won-il-class submarine (KSS-II)[9]
References
edit- ^ a b c d "Hyunmoo-3". Missile Threat CSIS Missile Defense Project. Center for Strategic and International Studies. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f "Hyunmoo Missiles – Seoul Going Ballistic - Defense Update". defense-update.com. 22 April 2012. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
- ^ "korean tactical missiles". Korean Defense Media Agency Blog. July 19, 2016.
- ^ a b Pike, John. "GLCM - Hyunmoo III / ALCM - Boramae / SLCM - Chonryong / Cheon Ryong / Ch'onnyong (Sky Dragon)". www.globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
- ^ "Commission to Assess the Ballistic Missile Threat to the United States".
- ^ a b "S.Korea's Cruise Missile Program Revealed". chosun.com. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
- ^ a b Pike, John. "GLCM - Hyunmoo III / ALCM - Boramae / SLCM - Chonryong / Cheon Ryong / Ch'onnyong (Sky Dragon)". globalsecurity.org. Archived from the original on 13 October 2017. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
- ^ S.Korea Unveils Homegrown Cruise Missiles - Chosun.com, 15 February 2013
- ^ a b South Korean Navy conducts test-launch Haeseong III cruise missile from Son Won II-class Type 214 submarine. Navy Recognition. 3 October 2020.
- ^ "ROK Ministry of National Defense releases video footages of DDH-II Class Destroyers".
- ^ "Sejong the Great Sejongdaewang KDX-III Class AEGIS Destroyer Republic of Korea ROK Navy 세종대왕급 구축함 Yulgok Yi I Seoae Yu Seong-ryong Hyundai Heavy Industries HHI DSME 대한민국 해군 datasheet pictures photos video specifications". Archived from the original on 2023-01-25. Retrieved 2021-01-04.
