South Korea: first successful test of a homegrown hypersonic glide vehicle, a “key strategic asset” for the battlefield

South Korea has carried out the first successful test of a domestically designed hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV). The presidency (Cheong Wa Dae) announced the test in a press release, and President Lee Jae Myung watched it. It was held on Thursday, October 8. NemesisHD’s information places the observation at the Anheung test range on the country’s west coast, which is run by the Agency for Defense Development (ADD); other outlets report that the location was not disclosed.

According to the presidency, the launch was conducted to verify the vehicle’s core technologies in a hypersonic flight environment for the first time: the performance of heat-resistant materials at very high temperatures, guidance and control, and the ability to make irregular manoeuvres at low altitude. The HGV, it said, separated successfully after climbing to its target altitude and carried out its planned flight path in the hypersonic environment without any problem. Presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said, as quoted by the JoongAng Daily, that the vehicle “successfully separated from its booster and seamlessly executed its planned flight path”.

What the images showed

The presidency released photographs of the launch, of a wheeled transporter-erector-launcher, of the vehicle lifting off from a platform off the coast, and of the vehicle striking the sea at the end of its flight. The vehicle appears to have a conical shape with stabilising fins at the base, although some details suggest a wedge shape. The missile’s official designation, the distance it flew and its maximum speed have not been announced.

The presidency described the HGV as “a key strategic asset capable of changing the course of the battlefield”, because its unpredictable trajectory and high speed allow surprise strikes against strategic targets. Glide vehicles travel at more than Mach 5 on a relatively low trajectory within the atmosphere and manoeuvre, which makes them very difficult to detect and intercept. The US HACM, which made its first flight test in Australia, belongs to the same broad class of weapons, although it is a scramjet-powered cruise missile and not a glide vehicle.

Estimates on range and launcher

The official information gives no range, but the photographs have already prompted estimates from observers of South Korea’s weapons programmes. The X account Mason (@mason_8718) notes that the vehicle struck a maritime target in a steep terminal dive after flying at high and low altitude, and estimates the range at anywhere from 200 to more than 3,000 kilometres. In his analysis the motor appears larger than those of the older Hyunmoo missiles, and the new launcher is either the eight-axle transporter-erector-launcher of the Hyunmoo-5 with a different canister or a slightly smaller vehicle. He speculates that, since Seoul already has many ballistic and cruise missile systems aimed at North Korea, the new system may also be intended for other regions. These are estimates, not official data.

The race on the Korean Peninsula

At the test site Lee also inspected a launch vehicle of the Hyunmoo-5, South Korea’s newest ballistic missile, which entered service late last year; the presidency did not officially link it to the test. The Hyunmoo-5 weighs 35 tonnes and carries a warhead of about 7.7 tonnes designed for deeply buried targets in North Korea. It is a pillar of Seoul’s “Korea Massive Punishment and Retaliation” (KMPR) doctrine. The test came a week after North Korea fired a ballistic missile from Wonsan, at a time of tension on the Korean Peninsula.