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Military authorities are known to be developing weapons that intercept with high-speed missiles (interceptors) launched by KF-X (Korean fighter jets) in the up-phase immediately after the launch of North Korean ballistic missiles in an emergency. Intercepting during the missile lift phase can cause damage to the missile fragments that land on North Korea’s land, thus deterring North Korea’s actual missile launch.
In particular, it is analyzed that it is possible to intercept new missiles such as the North Korean version of Iskander, which are difficult to intercept, or even super-large missiles. The military authorities plan to promote joint development with the United States and, in the medium and long term, develop a system to intercept North Korean missiles in the ascending phase with aircraft-mounted laser weapons.
◇ Development for Korean fighter and joint development between Korea and the US.
Currently, our army’s anti-missile defenses are the Patriot PAC-3 missile and the improved Chungoong 2 missile, which are intercepted in the last stage before the North missile hits our land, so even if the interception is successful, the fragments can fall to our land and the interception time is short. It is very short, so there is a possibility of failure. Until now, interception during the missile climb phase has been discussed as the most effective method, but it has not been done due to technical difficulties.
A military source said on the 19th that “the Defense Scientific Research Institute (ADD) is developing a North Korean missile interceptor that is launched from KF-X, etc.” and that “joint development with the United States is also underway.” This interceptor weapon was fired from the KF-X immediately after the north ballistic missile was launched and intercepted in the climb phase. The KF-X is expected to be developed by 2026 and accordingly it plans to develop an interceptor missile to be installed on the KF-X in the late 2020s.
The military authorities plan to develop a missile-type interceptor, and then develop a laser weapon equipped with a fighter or unmanned aerial vehicle in the medium or long term, and develop it by intercepting with a laser. Military authorities are also seeking joint development between Korea and the United States, especially considering that the United States considers North Korea’s ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile) to be a serious threat and is driving the development of high-level interceptor weapons. , like lasers. A source said: “Last year the United States convinced the intention to jointly develop a rising interceptor weapon and I know it showed a positive reaction.”
◇ Defense Science Research Institute presents concept diagrams and climb-level interceptor missiles
According to the interception concept map published on the Defense Scientific Research Institute website, the missile is lifted by detecting a North Korean ballistic missile launched by a Korean mid-range UAV and sending target information to the KF-X equipped with an interceptor ( interceptor missile). He’s supposed to intercept on stage. The Defense Science Research Institute also posted an image of an elongated interceptor on its website.
Ballistic missiles like ICBMs fly in three stages: an ascending stage in which they rise after launch, an intermediate stage in which the propellant burns out and flies out of the atmosphere, and a final stage in which it returns. to enter the atmosphere and falls towards the target. Experts have noted that impulse phase interception (BPI) is the most effective countermeasure against North Korea’s ICBMs or medium-range ballistic missiles.
The US Missile Defense Agency (DMA) said: “The ideal strategy for intercepting ballistic missiles is in the ascending phase,” he said. “At this stage, the countermeasures are not mobilized and the missile’s warhead cannot reach the speed required to recognize the designated target.” .
◇ The United States is developing a bottom-up interceptor system after detecting North Korean missiles by unmanned aerial vehicles
‘Proceedings’, a military journal published by the US Naval Research Institute (USNI), also said in 2017: “The ascending ballistic missile is a single large target with a clear trajectory and does not employ countermeasures, so it is much easier to detect and intercept than in the intermediate and final stages. ” Said. Prosedings emphasized that “a small interceptor suitable for BPI is sufficiently competitive in terms of cost.”
Arthur Herman, principal investigator at the Hudson Institute in the United States, said in a Wall Street Journal article in March 2017, “BPI launched an unmanned aerial vehicle equipped with an interceptor missile and an advanced infrared detection device at an altitude from approximately 17 km to 350 miles (560 km) outside of North Korea. It will be operated in a manner that supervises safety. “The interceptor missile has a warhead weight of 225 kg and is said to have enough power to destroy the ICBM.
In fact, in June 2016, in the first missile warning drill conducted in three countries in the waters near Hawaii, the US equipped two mid-size ‘Reapers’ UAVs with advanced infrared detection devices. to detect ground-launched ballistic missiles. It had been successful. The United States is developing a system that detects the launch of a North Korean missile with an unmanned aerial vehicle that can stay in the sky for a long time, then fires a missile or laser immediately and intercepts the North Korean missile in an ascending phase.
◇ Limitations of end-stage interceptors such as Patriot and THAAD
The United States had previously developed an ABL (Air Launched Laser) that fires a powerful laser beam from a Boeing 747 (also known as a jumbo jet) and intercepts an ascending North Korean missile from hundreds of kilometers away, but stopped it in 2011. This is because to that there was an issue with the safety and performance of the chemical laser (COIL), which is an interceptor.
Although ascending interception is the most ideal, the reason for the development delay is that the flight time of the ascending phase of the missile is only 1 to 5 minutes, and the time from detection to interception is too short. Consequently, intermediate and final stage interceptor weapons were developed and intensively deployed. The US-deployed GMD in Alaska and California and the SM-3 missile deployed on the Aegis ship are representative intermediate-stage interceptors. However, intermediate interception has a limitation in that it is difficult to distinguish between a real warhead and a fake warhead, and it is far from effective.
Final-stage interceptor weapons include THAAD and Patriot PAC-3, which were also deployed in the USFK, but even if the interception is successful, debris can fall into the friendly area and the interception time is too short, so that there is a risk of failure.
◇ There are many advantages to intercepting the ascending stage, such as the North Korean version of the Iskander missile.
Currently, as a final stage interceptor, the US and ROK forces have the Patriot PAC-3 CRI (maximum interception altitude 15-20 km) and the USFK, the Patriot PAC-3 MSE (altitude maximum interception 40 km), respectively. . Since the end of this year, the ROK military plans to introduce several batteries by 2022, the Cheongung 2 (interception altitude 15-20 km), a national interceptor missile similar to the Patriot PAC-3. The USFK also deployed a single THAAD (High Altitude Missile Defense System) battery with a maximum interception altitude of 150 km in Seongju, Gyeongbuk.
The new North Korean version of the Iskander and Ataekims (tactical surface-to-ground missiles) and large missiles have a maximum flight altitude of only 30-50 km, which makes interception with the USFK THAAD system virtually impossible. interception 40-150 km). Furthermore, it has been pointed out that intercepting is not easy even with the existing Patriot PAC-3 CRI or Cheongung 2 missile. However, a successful interception in the missile launch phase can alleviate this concern.
