Hyunmoo
Encyclopedia
Hyunmoo was a series of missiles developed by South Korea
.
Through reverse-engineering of US supplied missile
s, South Korea produced two versions of a two-stage, solid-fuel
SSM based on the US Nike Hercules surface-to-air missile
: NHK-1/Paekkom (180 km/500 kg) and NHK-2 (260 km/450 kg). Nike-Hercules, the American
missile deployed in South Korea
, was used as a model for development. With poor foundation in industrial technologies, South Korea
requested US support for related equipment and technology, but could not get the agreement of the US Department of State.
The Hyunmoo is the only ballistic missile
developed by South Korea
that was actually deployed. This missile improved the first stage propelling device that was a problem in the Paekgom. The first test-launch of the Hyunmoo was successful in 1982; following domestic twists and turns due to internal political situation of South Korea until the second test-launch in September 1985 flight test by the Defense Systems Test Center (DSTC).
In 1986, South Korea
succeeded in a test-launch in the current capacity with a payload of 480 kg and a range of 180 km. The US, however, withheld the export approval of Hyunmoo in 1990, and requested South Korea
to provide technical information on the Hyunmoo. It also requested a note by South Korea
promising not to develop missiles with a range over 180 km. After providing the US with the guarantee correspondence, South Korea
started to produce a limited number of Hyunmoo missiles and was under the inspection of the US until the production ended.
The Hyunmoo system [the name roughly translates as "guardian angel of the northern skies"], has been indigenously developed in the Agency for Defense Development and now it is in service by ROK Army
The missile is launched from the mobile launcher and fire-controlled by the battery control van. The Hyunmoo missile, which is propelled by two-stage solid rocket motor and features inertial guidance and control system, can reach the heart of its intended targets under any weather conditions without any commands from the ground after fire. The missile is approximately 12m long, weighting 5 tons.
A new cruise missile
was recently unveiled, named Hyunmoo-3, which is very similar to the American
Tomahawk. The Hyunmoo-3C has an increased range of 1,500 km.
The upgraded version of Hyunmoo-2A, named Hyunmoo-2B, was put into service since late 2009. The ballistic missile has in increased range of 500 km.
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
.
Through reverse-engineering of US supplied missile
Missile
Though a missile may be any thrown or launched object, it colloquially almost always refers to a self-propelled guided weapon system.-Etymology:The word missile comes from the Latin verb mittere, meaning "to send"...
s, South Korea produced two versions of a two-stage, solid-fuel
Solid fuel
Solid fuel refers to various types of solid material that are used as fuel to produce energy and provide heating, usually released through combustion....
SSM based on the US Nike Hercules surface-to-air missile
Surface-to-air missile
A surface-to-air missile or ground-to-air missile is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles...
: NHK-1/Paekkom (180 km/500 kg) and NHK-2 (260 km/450 kg). Nike-Hercules, the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
missile deployed in South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
, was used as a model for development. With poor foundation in industrial technologies, South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
requested US support for related equipment and technology, but could not get the agreement of the US Department of State.
The Hyunmoo is the only ballistic missile
Ballistic missile
A ballistic missile is a missile that follows a sub-orbital ballistic flightpath with the objective of delivering one or more warheads to a predetermined target. The missile is only guided during the relatively brief initial powered phase of flight and its course is subsequently governed by the...
developed by South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
that was actually deployed. This missile improved the first stage propelling device that was a problem in the Paekgom. The first test-launch of the Hyunmoo was successful in 1982; following domestic twists and turns due to internal political situation of South Korea until the second test-launch in September 1985 flight test by the Defense Systems Test Center (DSTC).
In 1986, South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
succeeded in a test-launch in the current capacity with a payload of 480 kg and a range of 180 km. The US, however, withheld the export approval of Hyunmoo in 1990, and requested South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
to provide technical information on the Hyunmoo. It also requested a note by South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
promising not to develop missiles with a range over 180 km. After providing the US with the guarantee correspondence, South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
started to produce a limited number of Hyunmoo missiles and was under the inspection of the US until the production ended.
The Hyunmoo system [the name roughly translates as "guardian angel of the northern skies"], has been indigenously developed in the Agency for Defense Development and now it is in service by ROK Army
Republic of Korea Army
The Republic of Korea Army is the largest of the military branches of the South Korean armed forces with 520,000 members as of 2010...
The missile is launched from the mobile launcher and fire-controlled by the battery control van. The Hyunmoo missile, which is propelled by two-stage solid rocket motor and features inertial guidance and control system, can reach the heart of its intended targets under any weather conditions without any commands from the ground after fire. The missile is approximately 12m long, weighting 5 tons.
A new cruise missile
Cruise missile
A cruise missile is a guided missile that carries an explosive payload and is propelled, usually by a jet engine, towards a land-based or sea-based target. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large warhead over long distances with high accuracy...
was recently unveiled, named Hyunmoo-3, which is very similar to the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Tomahawk. The Hyunmoo-3C has an increased range of 1,500 km.
The upgraded version of Hyunmoo-2A, named Hyunmoo-2B, was put into service since late 2009. The ballistic missile has in increased range of 500 km.
Variants
| Model | Range | Type | Storage | Notes |
| Hyunmoo-1 | 180 km | ballistic Ballistic missile A ballistic missile is a missile that follows a sub-orbital ballistic flightpath with the objective of delivering one or more warheads to a predetermined target. The missile is only guided during the relatively brief initial powered phase of flight and its course is subsequently governed by the... |
||
| modified Baekgom | ||||
| Hyunmoo-2A | 300 km | ballistic Ballistic missile A ballistic missile is a missile that follows a sub-orbital ballistic flightpath with the objective of delivering one or more warheads to a predetermined target. The missile is only guided during the relatively brief initial powered phase of flight and its course is subsequently governed by the... |
missile silo | modified Hyunmoo-1 |
| Hyunmoo-2B | 500 km | ballistic Ballistic missile A ballistic missile is a missile that follows a sub-orbital ballistic flightpath with the objective of delivering one or more warheads to a predetermined target. The missile is only guided during the relatively brief initial powered phase of flight and its course is subsequently governed by the... |
||
| modified Hyunmoo-2 and SS-21 | ||||
| Hyunmoo-3A | 500 km | cruise Cruise missile A cruise missile is a guided missile that carries an explosive payload and is propelled, usually by a jet engine, towards a land-based or sea-based target. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large warhead over long distances with high accuracy... |
||
| Hyunmoo-3B | 1,000 km | cruise Cruise missile A cruise missile is a guided missile that carries an explosive payload and is propelled, usually by a jet engine, towards a land-based or sea-based target. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large warhead over long distances with high accuracy... |
||
| Hyunmoo-3C | 1,500 km | cruise Cruise missile A cruise missile is a guided missile that carries an explosive payload and is propelled, usually by a jet engine, towards a land-based or sea-based target. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large warhead over long distances with high accuracy... |
||
Specifications
| Missile | Hyunmoo-1 |
| Length | 12.53 m overall 8.18 m at second stage |
| Diameter | 0.80 m booster 0.53 m at second stage |
| Fin span | 3.50 m booster 1.88 m at second stage |
| Mass | 4,850 kg at launch 2,505 kg at second stage |
| Maximum speed | Mach Mach number Mach number is the speed of an object moving through air, or any other fluid substance, divided by the speed of sound as it is in that substance for its particular physical conditions, including those of temperature and pressure... 3.65 (ca. 4 470 km/h) |
| Range | 180 km |
| Ceiling | 45,700 m |
| First stage | Hercules M42 solid-fueled rocket cluster (4x M5E1 Nike boosters) 978 kN (220,000 lbf) total |
| Second stage | Thiokol M30 solid-fueled rocket 44.4 kN (10,000 lbf) |
| Warhead conventional | T-45 HE warhead weighing 1,106 lb (500 kg) and containing 600 lb (272 kg) of HBX-6 HBX HBX is a family of binary explosives that are composed of RDX, TNT, powdered aluminium, and D-2 wax with calcium chloride. It is used in missile warheads and underwater ordnance.... M17 blast-fragmentation |
See also
- Nike-Hercules MissileNike-Hercules MissileThe MIM-14 Nike-Hercules , was a solid fuel propelled two-stage surface-to-air missile, used by US and NATO armed forces for high- and medium-altitude air defense...
Original missile Hyunmoo was modeled after - Rodong-1 Range: 1,300 km North KoreaNorth KoreaThe Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
- Rodong-2 Range: 2,000 km North Korea
- Taepodong-1Taepodong-1Taepodong-1 is a two-stage intermediate-range ballistic missile developed in North Korea, and the weapon is currently in use there. The missile was derived originally from the Scud rocket, and can allegedly serve as both a nuclear delivery system and a space launch vehicle...
3 stage ICBM North Korea - Taepodong-2Taepodong-2The Taepodong-2 is a designation used to indicate a North Korean two or three-stage ballistic missile design that is the successor to the Taepodong-1.-Details:...
Range: 10,000 km North Korea