On October 12, 2021, in the video of the "Self-Defense-2021" National Defense Development Exhibition released by North Korea, the fruitful achievements in the field of national defense science and technology in the past five years were displayed. In addition to some long-range weapons, some new tactical weapons are also eye-catching.
New cruise missiles
On September 13, 2021, North Korea unveiled its latest long-range cruise missile for the first time. The missile launched in this test flew for a total of 7,580 seconds and accurately hit the preset target in the predetermined elliptical and figure-8 flight trajectory on the territory and territorial waters of North Korea. The missile has a range of 1,500 kilometers. North Korea said that the thrust and other technical indicators of the newly developed turbine engine, the flight control performance of the missile, and the terminal guidance hit accuracy using composite guidance all met the design requirements. "From the photos at the exhibition, there is an obvious optical window in the middle of the missile head, which may use a composite guidance system such as inertial guidance + GPS GLONASS + terrain matching (optional) + infrared terminal guidance. The "Venus" 3 anti-ship missile developed by North Korea based on the Kh-35 missile is equipped with a radar seeker and an infrared seeker. It can transmit the image of the target ship to the rear command vehicle in real time when approaching the target. North Korea’s new cruise missile may also have a terminal image return function similar to the "Venus" 3. The optical seeker can greatly improve the missile’s hit accuracy.
North Korea’s new cruise missile uses a five-unit (upper 2 and lower 3) wheeled chassis launcher similar to the KN-25 super-large caliber rocket launcher. The versatility of the launch tube indicates that the missile has a diameter of about 500 More than millimeters, about 7 meters long. In the future, the missile may develop a submarine-launched version.
New air defense missile
On September 30, 2021, before the exhibition, North Korea tested a new air defense missile. The missile attracted attention when it first appeared at the 2020 military parade. Its appearance is similar to the S-300PMU2. The North Korean Academy of Defense Science said: "The purpose of the test launch is to confirm its comprehensive combat performance, the actual performance of the launcher, radar, and combat integrated command vehicle... Due to the use of important new technologies such as dual rudder control and dual-pulse engines, the missile control system’s responsiveness, guidance accuracy, and air target elimination distance have been greatly increased..."
Combined with the photos, it can be seen that the missile launch method is vertical cold launch. The missile consists of two parts: the missile body and the booster, and the interception height of the target may increase. The head of the missile body is equipped with a movable front wing, and the tail is equipped with two sets of tail wing with a small spacing. The front group is fixed and the rear group is movable. The missile adopts the first The advanced dual-pulse engine technology can achieve a dual high-throw trajectory, increase the average speed and terminal speed of the missile, and is conducive to attacking highly maneuverable targets. Each launcher can launch in all directions and intercept targets within a 360° range, eliminating combat blind spots. Since the launcher does not need to be turned during launch, the reaction time is greatly shortened, the missile’s firepower density and ability to resist saturation attacks are improved, and the launch device is simplified, improving the system’s maneuverability and survivability.
In addition, North Korea also demonstrated a new three-coordinate warning radar, which seems to have the ability to detect stealth targets. All signs indicate that North Korea is already studying how to effectively deal with advanced stealth fighters from the United States and South Korea.
Other weapons
In addition to the above-mentioned "Internet celebrity weapons", the mysterious air-launched TV-guided missiles of North Korea and fiber-optic guided missiles similar to the "Spike" NLOS were also made public for the first time. North Korea’s Mi-2 helicopter has the ability to launch TV-guided missiles to attack enemy tanks, and North Korea’s "Spike" missiles are not only equipped with land-based "Junma" 6x6 armored vehicles, but can also be installed on ships.
Air-to-air missiles similar to China’s "Pili" 10 and "Pili" 11, as well as new portable air defense missiles copied from the Russian SA-16, were also displayed. The North Korean version of the "Pili" 10 may have a laser proximity fuse, which can enhance the close combat capability of North Korean fighters. In addition, the "Firebird" 4 and "Firebird" 5 portable anti-tank missiles were also exhibited for the first time. The former has a range of 4 kilometers and can easily penetrate the "Cheonma" 216 tank with the same protection as the T-62M; the latter is actually a copy of the Russian "Kornet" anti-tank missile, with a range of more than 5.5 kilometers. North Korea’s "main tank" turret carries two of these missiles to make up for the lack of tank gun range.
The emergence of large-caliber self-propelled artillery, 122 mm wheeled artillery, large-caliber sniper rifles and assault rifles means that the combat effectiveness of the North Korean army is improving. North Korea has developed a new stealth turret for its imitation of the "Otto" 76mm naval gun imported from Iran, which can be equipped on the SSES3 stealth missile boat (some people call it the "Lungao" 3-type sidewall stealth missile boat) or the Amnok-class ("Sinpo" class) stealth frigate in the future. North Korea has proved that it also has the technical strength to develop similar "Yun Yongxia" class missile boats in South Korea.
The exhibition also exhibited drones, but due to deliberate obstruction, it can only be seen that they are small reconnaissance drones similar to the "Bee" 1T. However, according to the report of the 8th Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea, North Korea is also developing drones with a reconnaissance radius of 500 kilometers. The combination of drones and various tactical missiles will be a key means for North Korea to improve its ability to conduct intelligent warfare in the future. North Korea seems to have introduced the Russian-made "Krasuha" electronic warfare system (used to interfere with fighter jets, reconnaissance aircraft and drone airborne radars), which is a wise choice made after in-depth observation of the Syrian war and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The emergence of the North Korean version of the "Tor" air defense missile shows that North Korea is also working hard to improve its ability to counter enemy drones, air-to-ground missiles, cruise missiles, and cruise missile cluster attacks. However, the number of the above-mentioned advanced weapons and equipment remains a mystery, and it will take a long time to make the North Korean armed forces completely transformed. In the next five years, in addition to accelerating the testing of new weapons, North Korea will also work hard to increase production and popularize them to various troops to enhance their offensive and defensive capabilities.
