South Korea’s Agency for Defense Development (ADD) completed a test of its homegrown submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) fired from a new submarine system, Yonhap News Agency reported on Tuesday.
The SLMB was deployed underwater from the Dosan Ahn Chang-ho submarine last week, the outlet cited internal military sources as saying. Sources also noted that more tests would take place, followed by mass production.
This particular SLMB is locally made and equipped with six vertical launch tubes with a total weight of 3,000 tons (2,721,554 kgs). No official specifications have been revealed, but sources say it is a Hyunmoo-2B ballistic missile variant with a flight capability of up to 500 kilometers (310 miles).
The missile system has reportedly been codenamed Hyunmoo 4-4.
South Korea’s SLBM
Once the new missile system becomes officially in service to Korea’s military, the country would become the eighth in the world to own an SLMB system. Operators of similar missile systems include the United States, Russia, Britain, France, India, China, and North Korea.
What makes an SLMB different from traditional submarine missiles is that it is harder to detect at launch.
Earlier this year, both the North and the South demonstrated their SLMB systems in shows of strength as part of their long-simmering conflict.