The Hwasong-7 (; spelled Hwaseong-7 in South Korea, lit. Mars Type 7), also known as Nodong-1 (Hangul: ; Hanja: ), is a single-
stage
Stage or stages may refer to:
Acting
* Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions
* Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage"
* ''The Stage'', a weekly British theatre newspaper
* Sta ...
, mobile
liquid propellant
A liquid is a nearly incompressible fluid that conforms to the shape of its container but retains a (nearly) constant volume independent of pressure. As such, it is one of the four fundamental states of matter (the others being solid, gas, an ...
medium-range ballistic missile
A medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM) is a type of ballistic missile with medium range, this last classification depending on the standards of certain organizations. Within the U.S. Department of Defense, a medium-range missile is defined by ...
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 ...
. Developed in the mid-1980s, it is a scaled up adaptation of the
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
R-17 Elbrus
The R-17 Elbrus, GRAU index 9K72 is a tactical ballistic missile, initially developed by the Soviet Union. It is also known by its NATO reporting name SS-1C Scud-B. It is one of several Soviet missiles to carry the reporting name Scud; the most pr ...
missiles, more commonly known by its
NATO reporting name
NATO reporting names are code names for military equipment from Russia, China, and historically, the Eastern Bloc (Soviet Union and other nations of the Warsaw Pact). They provide unambiguous and easily understood English words in a uniform manne ...
"
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 ...
". Inventory is estimated to be around 200–300 missiles.
US Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...
National Air and Space Intelligence Center
The National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC) is the United States Air Force unit for analyzing military intelligence on foreign air and space forces, weapons, and systems. NASIC assessments of aerospace performance characteristics, ca ...
estimates that as of June 2017 fewer than 100 launchers were operationally deployed.
One variant Rodong-1M is called Hwasong-9.
It influenced the design of Pakistan's
Ghauri-1
The Ghauri–I ( ur, غوری-ا; official codename: Hatf–V Ghauri–I) is a Surface to surface missile, land-based surface-to-surface medium-range ballistic missile, in current Military service, service with the Pakistan Army's National Comma ...
missile, as well as the
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
ian
Shahab-3
The Shahab-3 ( fa, شهاب ۳, Šahâb 3; meaning "meteor-3") is a liquid-propelled medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM) developed by Iran and based on the North Korean Nodong-1. The Shahab-3 has a range of ; a MRBM variant can now reach (can ...
.
Overview
![North_Korean_missile_range](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/32/North_Korean_missile_range.svg)
It is believed North Korea obtained R-17 designs from
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
, and possibly modified designs from China, allowing them to
reverse-engineer
Reverse engineering (also known as backwards engineering or back engineering) is a process or method through which one attempts to understand through deductive reasoning how a previously made device, process, system, or piece of software accompl ...
them into a larger and longer-distance weapon. United States
reconnaissance satellite
A reconnaissance satellite or intelligence satellite (commonly, although unofficially, referred to as a spy satellite) is an Earth observation satellite or communications satellite deployed for military or intelligence applications.
The ...
s first detected this type in May 1990 at the
Musudan-ri
The Tonghae Satellite Launching Ground, also known as Musudan-ri (), is a rocket Rocket launch site, launching site in North Korea.
Location
It lies in southern Hwadae County, North Hamgyong Province, near Musu Dan, the cape marking the norther ...
test launch facility, in northeastern North Korea.
The precise capabilities and specifications of the missile are unknown; even the fact of its production and deployment are controversial. It is a larger variant of the R-17, scaled up so its cross-sectional area is about doubled, with a diameter of and a length of .
[
Its aerodynamic design is stable, reducing the need for modern active stabilization systems while the missile is flying in the denser lower atmosphere. It can only be fueled when vertical, therefore it cannot be fueled before transport as is normal for modern missiles.][ Its range is estimated as 900 km (960 mi) with a 1,000 kg ]payload
Payload is the object or the entity which is being carried by an aircraft or launch vehicle. Sometimes payload also refers to the carrying capacity of an aircraft or launch vehicle, usually measured in terms of weight. Depending on the nature of ...
[ to a range of between 1,000 km to 1,500 km.][ North Korea test-fired three Hwasong-7 missiles consecutively on 5 September 2016 and they all flew for about 1000 km, landing in the Japan Air Defense Identification Zone.]
It has an estimated circular error probable
In the military science of ballistics, circular error probable (CEP) (also circular error probability or circle of equal probability) is a measure of a weapon system's precision. It is defined as the radius of a circle, centered on the mean, wh ...
(CEP) of one or two kilometers. North Korea is believed to possess some 300 Hwasong-7 missiles and fewer than 50 mobile launchers.
The Hwasong-7's technology has been exported to foreign nations (such as Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
and Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
) in secrecy on the basis of mutual exchange
The term mutual exchange describes the ability of two (or more) tenants in the public housing
Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although th ...
of technologies
Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in medicine, science, ...
, with Iran being one of the largest beneficiaries of such technology. Successful variants were tested and deployed by Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
after developing the Shahab-3
The Shahab-3 ( fa, شهاب ۳, Šahâb 3; meaning "meteor-3") is a liquid-propelled medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM) developed by Iran and based on the North Korean Nodong-1. The Shahab-3 has a range of ; a MRBM variant can now reach (can ...
which is roughly based on Hwasong-7.
Pakistan, however, suffered with repeated failure initially due to flawed design
/ref> given in exchange but succeeded in reevaluating the missile's conceptual design and its electronic system in 1998 through reverse engineering. The Ghauri (missile)
The Ghauri–I ( ur, غوری-ا; official codename: Hatf–V Ghauri–I) is a Surface to surface missile, land-based surface-to-surface medium-range ballistic missile, in current Military service, service with the Pakistan Army's National Comma ...
was later (independently) developed by Kahuta Research Labs and eventually entered in to active military service in 2003.It is believed that it is redesigned/ reverse engineered model of Rodong-1.
A few Hwasong-7 missiles were launched in the 2006 North Korean missile test
Two rounds of North Korean missile tests were conducted on July 5, 2006. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK or North Korea) reportedly fired at least seven separate missiles. These included one long-range Taepodong-2 missile and sho ...
, and a further two in a 2014 test over a range of 650 km.
Although it has an estimated range of , launches in March 2014 flew only . Their range was shortened by firing at a higher launch angle. The missiles flew to an altitude of 160 km (100 mi) at Mach 7. U.S. and South Korean Patriot PAC-2/3 interceptors are more specialized to hit ballistic missiles
A ballistic missile is a type of missile that uses projectile motion to deliver warheads on a target. These weapons are guided only during relatively brief periods—most of the flight is unpowered. Short-range ballistic missiles stay within the ...
missiles up to 40 km high.[
On 5 September 2016, North Korea fired three consecutive Rodong-1 missiles into the ]Sea of Japan
The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it h ...
and at a range of about 1,000 km.[North Korea fires 3 ballistic missiles; Japan calls it 'serious threat']
– CNN, 2337 GMT 5 September 2016 This marked the Rodong-1 as a credible and matured missile suitable for operational deployment since its first successful launch in 1993. The United Nations Security Council
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the Organs of the United Nations, six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international security, international peace and security, recommending the admi ...
condemned North Korea's missile launches.[UN council condemns N Korea missile launches, vows new measures]
– CNA, 27 August 2016.
To enable interception at higher altitudes, South Korea is indigenously developing the long-range surface-to-air missile (L-SAM), and on 8 July 2016 the U.S. agreed to deploy one Terminal High Altitude Area Defense
Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), formerly Theater High Altitude Area Defense, is an American anti-ballistic missile defense system designed to shoot down short-, medium-, and intermediate-range ballistic missiles in their terminal ...
missile defense system in Seongju County
Seongju County (''Seongju-gun'') is a county in North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. This largely agricultural area is located immediately west of the metropolitan city of Daegu. The capital of the county is the town of Seongju.
Lotte Skyhill ...
, in the south of South Korea, by the end of 2017.
See also
* Strategic Rocket Forces (North Korea)
The Korean People's Army Strategic Force (Korean: 조선인민군 전략군), previously known as the Korean People's Army Strategic Rocket Force (Korean: 조선인민군 전략로케트군) and as the Missile Guidance Bureau (Korean: 미사일 ...
* North Korean missile tests
There have been a number of North Korean missile tests. North Korea has also fired a number of short-range missiles into the Sea of Japan, in what have been interpreted as political gestures.
, North Korea has carried out 147 tests of strategic ...
* North Korean defense industry
North Korea's defence industry predates the Korean War, but has emerged as a major supplier to the North Korean armed forces beginning in the 1970s, but increasingly so after the fall of the Soviet Union and to supplement those purchased from Chin ...
* Military of North Korea
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
References
External links
CSIS Missile Threat - No-Dong 1
CNS report North Korea's Ballistic Missile Capabilities 2006
* Center for Nonproliferation Studies
The Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (MIIS), formerly known as the Monterey Institute of International Studies, is an American graduate school of Middlebury College, a private college in Middlebury, Vermont.
Established ...
North Korea's Ballistic Missile Program
* GlobalSecurity.org
* National Threat Initiative
{{DPRK missiles
Ballistic missiles of North Korea
Medium-range ballistic missiles
Medium-range ballistic missiles of North Korea
Military equipment introduced in the 1990s