The Hwasong-10 (), also known by the names BM-25 and Musudan (), is a mobile
intermediate-range ballistic missile
An intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) is a ballistic missile with a range of 3,000–5,500 km (1,864–3,418 miles), between a medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM) and an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). Classifying ba ...
developed by
North Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...
. Hwasong-10 was first revealed to the international community in a military parade on 10 October 2010 celebrating the
Workers' Party of Korea
The Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) is the founding and sole ruling party of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, commonly known as North Korea. Founded in 1949 from the merger of the Workers' Party of North Korea and the Workers' Party of ...
's 65th anniversary, although experts believe these were mock-ups of the missile.
Hwasong-10 resembles the shape of the Soviet Union's R-27 Zyb
The R-27 Zyb was a submarine-launched ballistic missile developed by the Soviet Union and employed by the Soviet Navy from 1968 through 1988. NATO assigned the missile the reporting name SS-N-6 Serb. In the USSR, it was given the GRAU index 4K ...
submarine-launched missile, but is slightly longer.[ It is based on the R-27, which uses a 4D10 engine propelled by ]unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine
Unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine (UDMH; 1,1-dimethylhydrazine, НДМГ or codenamed Geptil) is a chemical compound with the formula H2NN(CH3)2 that is used as a rocket propellant. It is a colorless liquid, with a sharp, fishy, ammonia-like smell ...
(UDMH) and nitrogen tetroxide
Dinitrogen tetroxide, commonly referred to as nitrogen tetroxide (NTO), and occasionally (usually among ex-USSR/Russia rocket engineers) as amyl, is the chemical compound N2O4. It is a useful reagent in chemical synthesis. It forms an equilibrium ...
(NTO). These propellants are much more advanced than the kerosene compounds used in North Korea's Scud
A Scud missile is one of a series of tactical ballistic missiles developed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War. It was exported widely to both Second World, Second and Third World, Third World countries. The term comes from the NATO reporti ...
s and Nodong missiles.
Since April 2016 the Hwasong-10 has been tested a number of times, with two apparent partial successes and a number of failures.
The Hwasong-10 was not shown in the April 2017 and February 2018 military parades, suggesting that the design had not been deployed.[
Assuming a range of 3200 km, the Musudan could hit any target in East Asia (including US military bases in Guam
and Okinawa).][https://csis-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/legacy_files/files/publication/150325_Korea_Military_Balance.pdf ] Inventory is less than 50 launchers.
Development
In the mid-1990s, after the collapse of the Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
, North Korea invited the Makeyev Design Bureau's ballistic missile designers and engineers to develop this missile, based on the R-27 Zyb
The R-27 Zyb was a submarine-launched ballistic missile developed by the Soviet Union and employed by the Soviet Navy from 1968 through 1988. NATO assigned the missile the reporting name SS-N-6 Serb. In the USSR, it was given the GRAU index 4K ...
. In 1992, a large contract between Korea Yon’gwang Trading Company and Makeyev Rocket Design Bureau of Miass, Russia was signed. The agreement stated that Russian engineers would go to the DPRK and assist in the development of the Zyb Space Launch Vehicle (SLV).
It was decided that, as the Korean People's Army
The Korean People's Army (KPA; ) is the military force of North Korea and the armed wing of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK). Under the ''Songun'' policy, it is the central institution of North Korean society. Currently, WPK General Sec ...
's MAZ-547A
The MAZ-543/MAZ-7310 "Uragan" (russian: МАЗ-543/МАЗ-7310 "Ураган"/Hurricane) is a Soviet/Belarusian 8×8 artillery truck designed and developed by MAZ (Minsk Automobile Plant), in what is now Belarus.
MAZ-543
Designed in the 1960s, ...
/MAZ-7916 Transporter erector launcher
A transporter erector launcher (TEL) is a missile vehicle with an integrated tractor unit that can carry, elevate to firing position and launch one or more missiles.
History
Such vehicles exist for both surface-to-air missiles and surface-to-su ...
could carry 20 tonnes, and the R-27 Zyb was only 14.2 tonnes, the R-27 Zyb's fuel/oxidizer tank could be extended by approximately 2 metres.[ Additionally, the warhead was reduced from a three-warhead ]MIRV
A multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle (MIRV) is an exoatmospheric ballistic missile payload containing several warheads, each capable of being aimed to hit a different target. The concept is almost invariably associated with i ...
to a single warhead.
The actual rocket design is a liquid fuel rocket
A liquid-propellant rocket or liquid rocket utilizes a rocket engine that uses liquid propellants. Liquids are desirable because they have a reasonably high density and high specific impulse (''I''sp). This allows the volume of the propellant ta ...
, generally believed to use a hypergolic
A hypergolic propellant is a rocket propellant combination used in a rocket engine, whose components spontaneously ignite when they come into contact with each other.
The two propellant components usually consist of a fuel and an oxidizer. The ...
combination of unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine
Unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine (UDMH; 1,1-dimethylhydrazine, НДМГ or codenamed Geptil) is a chemical compound with the formula H2NN(CH3)2 that is used as a rocket propellant. It is a colorless liquid, with a sharp, fishy, ammonia-like smell ...
(UDMH) as fuel, and nitrogen tetroxide
Dinitrogen tetroxide, commonly referred to as nitrogen tetroxide (NTO), and occasionally (usually among ex-USSR/Russia rocket engineers) as amyl, is the chemical compound N2O4. It is a useful reagent in chemical synthesis. It forms an equilibrium ...
(NTO) as oxidizer.[ Once the fuel/oxidizer combination are fed into the missile, it could maintain a 'ready to launch' condition for several days, or even weeks, like the R-27 SLBM, in moderate ambient temperatures. A fueled Hwasong-10 would not have the structural strength to be safely land transported, so would have to be fueled at the launch site.][
It was originally believed that the rocket motors of Hwasong-10 were the same as those within the second stage of the ]Taepodong-2
The Taepodong-2 (TD-2, also spelled as Taep'o-dong 2)
Federation of American Scientists, May 30, 2008 ( ko, ...
, which North Korea unsuccessfully test fired in 2006. However analysis of the Unha-3
The Unha or Eunha ( ko, 은하, 銀河, "Galaxy") is a North Korean expendable carrier rocket, which partially utilizes the same delivery system as the Taepodong-2 orbital launch system.
History
North Korea's first orbital space launch attemp ...
launch, believed to be based on the Taepodong-2, showed that the second stage did not use the same fuel as the R-27, and is probably based on Nodong rocket technology.[
Before its test flight it was believed that there was a possibility that the Hwasong-10 would use the Nodong's ]kerosene
Kerosene, paraffin, or lamp oil is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid which is derived from petroleum. It is widely used as a fuel in aviation as well as households. Its name derives from el, κηρός (''keros'') meaning "wax", and was regi ...
and corrosion inhibited red fuming nitric acid (IRFNA) propellants, reducing the missile's range by about half.
However it is unlikely that North Korea uses IRFNA propellants which would reduce its range by about half, after the experts acknowledged that the 22 June 2016 test could have had a range of 3,150 km if the missile was not launched in the lofted trajectory
Projectile motion is a form of motion experienced by an object or particle (a projectile) that is projected in a gravitational field, such as from Earth's surface, and moves along a curved path under the action of gravity only. In the particu ...
.[Michael Elleman: North Korea’s Musudan missile effort advances]
- IISS Voices, 27 Jun 2016
Iranian Khorramshahr
North Korea sold a version of this missile to Iran under the designation BM-25. The number 25 represents the missile range (2500 km). The Iranian designation is Khorramshahr
Khorramshahr ( fa, خرمشهر , also romanized as ''Khurramshahr'', ar, المحمرة, romanized as ''Al-Muhammerah'') is a city and capital of Khorramshahr County, Khuzestan Province, Iran. At the 2016 census, its population was 170,976, in ...
, and it was unveiled and test-fired in September 2017. Earlier test firing occurred in January 2017. According to IISS
The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) is a British research institute or think tank in the area of international affairs. Since 1997, its headquarters have been Arundel House in London, England.
The 2017 Global Go To Think T ...
expert Dempsey, the missile looks very similar to Hwasong-10. It carries 1800 kg payload over 2000 km (Iran claims it has decreased missile size over the initial version, thus reducing propellant mass and range). Such a range covers targets not only in Israel, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, but even NATO members Romania, Bulgaria and Greece, if fired from Western Iran. Iran claims it can carry multiple warheads, most likely a reference to submunition
A cluster munition is a form of air-dropped or ground-launched explosive weapon that releases or ejects smaller submunitions. Commonly, this is a cluster bomb that ejects explosive bomblets that are designed to kill personnel and destroy vehicl ...
s.
List of Hwasong-10 tests
Strategic implications
Currently, North Korea is also working on land based nuclear deterrents that are of Intercontinental range, such as KN-08
The Hwasong-13 (), also known as Rodong-C () or KN-08 under the U.S. naming convention, is a road-mobile intercontinental ballistic missile believed to be under development by North Korea. The changes shown in the mock-up displayed in October 20 ...
, KN-14
The Hwasong-13 (), also known as Rodong-C () or KN-08 under the U.S. naming convention, is a road-mobile intercontinental ballistic missile believed to be under development by North Korea. The changes shown in the mock-up displayed in October 201 ...
(Upgraded version of KN-08
The Hwasong-13 (), also known as Rodong-C () or KN-08 under the U.S. naming convention, is a road-mobile intercontinental ballistic missile believed to be under development by North Korea. The changes shown in the mock-up displayed in October 20 ...
). It is also working a sea-based nuclear deterrent, such as Pukkuksong-1
The Pukguksong-1 or Pukkŭksŏng-1, Bukgeukseong-1 (Hangul: 북극성1호, Hanja: 北極星1号, literally Polaris-1), alternatively KN-11 in intelligence communities outside North Korea, is a North Korean, two-stage submarine-launched ballisti ...
SLBM
A submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) is a ballistic missile capable of being launched from Ballistic missile submarine, submarines. Modern variants usually deliver multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRVs), each of whic ...
.
North Korea is confirmed to have successfully launched a KN-11
The Pukguksong-1 or Pukkŭksŏng-1, Bukgeukseong-1 (Hangul: 북극성1호, Hanja: 北極星1号, literally Polaris-1), alternatively KN-11 in intelligence communities outside North Korea, is a North Korean, two-stage submarine-launched ballisti ...
missile in a full test flight in a lofted trajectory
Projectile motion is a form of motion experienced by an object or particle (a projectile) that is projected in a gravitational field, such as from Earth's surface, and moves along a curved path under the action of gravity only. In the particu ...
and expecting KN-11 to be operationally deployed as early as before 2017 by South Korea military source in 25 Aug 2016.[(2nd LD) N.K. leader calls SLBM launch success, boasts of nuke attack capacity]
- Yonhap, 25 Aug 2016 08:17am
In May 2017 North Korea successfully tested a new missile, the Hwasong-12, with a similar range to the Hwasong-10. A new missile had been displayed in the April 2017 military parade on the Hwasong-10 mobile launcher, and the Hwasong-12 may be intended to replace the Hwasong-10 which has been shown unreliable during its test programme. The Hwasong-10 was not shown in the February 2018 military parade, suggesting again that the design had not been deployed.
Description and technical specifications
Hwasong-10
* Launch weight: about 20 tons (est.)[
* Diameter: 1.5 m][
* Total Length: 12 m][
* Payload: 1,000–1,250 kg (est.)][
* Warhead: single
* Maximum range: 2,500–4,000 km (est.)]
* CEP: 1.3 km
* Launch platform: North Korean-produced TEL, resembling a stretched and modified MAZ-543
__NOTOC__
Year 543 ( DXLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 543 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar e ...
Operators
Current operators
* : According to one source, more than 200; other source claims 12 deployed. 16 were seen at once during the October 10, 2010 Military Parade, although experts contacted by the Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
believed these were mock-ups of the missile.
Suspected operators
* : 19, according to a leaked, classified U.S. State Department cable, although Iran has not displayed the missiles until 2017 causing some U.S. intelligence officials to doubt the missiles were transferred to Iran.[
Section 25 of this leaked cable (written before the 10 October 2010 appearance of the missile)] says:
Russia said that during its presentations in Moscow and its
comments thus far during the current talks, the U.S. has
discussed the BM-25 as an existing system. Russia questioned
the basis for this assumption and asked for any facts the
U.S. had to provide its existence such as launches, photos,
etc. For Russia, the BM-25 is a mysterious missile. North
Korea has not conducted any tests of this missile, but the
U.S. has said that North Korea transferred 19 of these
missiles to Iran. It is hard for Russia to follow the logic
trail on this. Since Russia has not seen any evidence of
this missile being developed or tested, it is hard for Russia
to imagine that Iran would buy an untested system. Russia
does not understand how a deal would be made for an untested
missile. References to the missile's existence are more in
the domain of political literature than technical fact. In
short, for Russia, there is a question about the existence of
this system.
Iran displayed the Khorramshahr
Khorramshahr ( fa, خرمشهر , also romanized as ''Khurramshahr'', ar, المحمرة, romanized as ''Al-Muhammerah'') is a city and capital of Khorramshahr County, Khuzestan Province, Iran. At the 2016 census, its population was 170,976, in ...
missile 22 September 2017, claiming its range to be 1240 miles.Ali Arouzi, NBC News (22 September 2017) Iran Shows Off Khorramshahr Ballistic Missile After Trump Speech
/ref>
See also
*R-27 Zyb
The R-27 Zyb was a submarine-launched ballistic missile developed by the Soviet Union and employed by the Soviet Navy from 1968 through 1988. NATO assigned the missile the reporting name SS-N-6 Serb. In the USSR, it was given the GRAU index 4K ...
*Pukkuksong-1
The Pukguksong-1 or Pukkŭksŏng-1, Bukgeukseong-1 (Hangul: 북극성1호, Hanja: 北極星1号, literally Polaris-1), alternatively KN-11 in intelligence communities outside North Korea, is a North Korean, two-stage submarine-launched ballisti ...
* JL-1
*KN-08
The Hwasong-13 (), also known as Rodong-C () or KN-08 under the U.S. naming convention, is a road-mobile intercontinental ballistic missile believed to be under development by North Korea. The changes shown in the mock-up displayed in October 20 ...
References
External links
Missile Threat CSIS - Musudan (BM-25)
astronautix.com
Globalsecurity.org
{{DPRK missiles
Ballistic missiles of North Korea
Ballistic missiles of Iran
Intermediate-range ballistic missiles of North Korea
it:SS-N-6 Serb