[양낙규의 Defence video]Developed supersonic missile for KFX

[아시아경제 양낙규 군사전문기자]The Korean military is setting out to develop a hypersonic missile that the US, China, and Russia are competitively jumping into. In addition, research is underway to develop an aerial launch cruise missile (ALCM), which is regarded as one of the’three nuclear umbrella forces’ along with an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and a submarine launch ballistic missile (SLBM). The military plans to equip these state-of-the-art strategic missile weapons into the next-generation fighter (KFX) to be deployed in 2026.

It is reported that the military plans to discuss with the Defense Science Research Institute (ADD) to develop a hypersonic guided missile to be installed in the KFX. The speed of the hypersonic guided missile reaches Mach 5, which is more than twice as fast as the conventional supersonic guided missile (Mach 2.5). It can be reached in 1 minute and 15 seconds by firing at the North Korean command post in Pyongyang, 250 km above Seoul. The criteria to be classified as hypersonic missiles are applied only if they have a speed of at least Mach 5. When a hypersonic guided missile is developed, it will become the world’s fourth developing country after the US, China, and Russia.

The development of hypersonic guided missiles with a speed of Mach 5 in the military seems to be a measure of countering the movement of North Korea to develop strategic weapons as well as a face-to-face response to the active development movements of the powers around the Korean Peninsula.

Along with this, the military began to develop ALCM that could technically even mount a nuclear warhead. The American ALCM is a cruise missile mounted on a long-range strategic bomber B-52 or a stealth strategic bomber B-2. If the ALCM development is successful with domestic technology, it can be evaluated that the military’s war deterrence posture is strengthened in that it has secured a weapon system that can contribute to the US nuclear umbrella operation in case of emergency.

Reporter Yang Nak-gyu [email protected]