| Country: |
North Korea |
| Associated Country: |
Iran |
| Alternate Name: |
No Dong B; BM-25 |
| Class: |
IRBM |
| Length: |
12 m |
| Diameter: |
1.5 m |
| Launch Weight: |
19000 kg |
| Payload: |
1000-1200 |
| Propulsion: |
liquid |
| Range: |
3200 km |
| Status: |
Unknown |
Details
The Musudan is based on the
R-27: an intermediate range, liquid propellant, submarine-launched ballistic missile deployed by Russia in the 1960s. Though the missile technology is obsolete in Russia, it is believed to have been employed in North Korea for the last decade. Details about this missile program are still relatively patchy. Israeli intelligence designates the missile BM-25. The US has given the missile the name “Musudan” following the standard practice of naming missiles according to the names of towns nearby the missile’s flight test center.(1)
The range of the missile is disputed among intelligence sources. Israeli sources identified North Korean R-27 based missiles in Iran with a range of 2500 km. American sources report a range of 3200 km.(2) There may also be several versions of the missile with ranges varying between 2000 and 4000 km. Given a range of 3200 km, the Musudan could hit any target in East Asia (including US bases in Guam and Okinawa) and Hawaii.
The missile is believed to have a launch weight of 19000 kg, a length of 12 m, a diameter of 1.5 m and a payload between 1000 and 1200 kg.(1) Characteristics of the warhead are unknown, though a 1000 kg payload would probably serve to carry a medium sized HE, submunitions, chemical, or nuclear warhead. The missile has a smaller size and larger range than the
No Dong or
Taepo Dong 1, and a slightly better accuracy of 1.6 km CEP. This accuracy would only be sufficient for attacking large, soft targets like cities, harbors, or bases. This accuracy is certainly not good enough for the weapon to be used as a counterstrike weapon.
Though the missile design is borrowed from a Russian submarine-launched missile, North Korea probably intends to transport and fire the missile using wheeled TEL units or ship-based launchers.
The R-27 technology appears to have entered North Korea since the mid-1990s. The first prototype was reported in 2000, but no flight tests have yet been reported. In 2003 and 2004 it is believed that North Korea performed motor tests, but these have yet to be followed by tests of a completed missile. A 2006 report suggested that up to 50 missiles had been produced and deployed to underground facilities. A 2007 report from South Korea indicated that North Korea was intending to fit the missiles with appropriate launch apparatus into merchant ships. Some reports also suggest that North Korea has cooperated with Iran on the Musudan project.(1)
Footnotes
1.
Jane's Strategic Weapons Systems, Issue 50, ed. Duncan Lennox, (Surrey: Jane's Information Group, January 2009) 94-95.
2. Bermudez, Joseph., "Japan reveals name of North Korea's R-27 IRBM," in Jane's Defense Weekly, Vol. 44, Iss. 21, May 23 2007, 4.
New Missiles on Display at North Korean Parade
October 13, 2010 :: AP :: News
New military hardware was on display in North Korea on Sunday at a military parade designed to introduce heir apparent Kim Jong Un to his future subjects. An intermediate-range (3000-5000 km) "Musudan" (the U.S. designation of the missile based on what town its flight test center is near) was supposedly on display.
The Musudan, developed by the North Korean military after it acquired Russian R-27 missiles, is nuclear capable and can be launched from the ground or the sea. The missiles were thought to be on display as early as 2007, but no photographs have emerged. It is widely believed that the North Koreans have sold a number of Musudans to Iran, although Iran has never confirmed receipt or testing of the missiles. It may be that the Shahab-4 Iranian IRBM is just a renamed Musudan. The missile has a very short launch preparation time of roughly ten minutes, making it an attractive deterrent. (Article, Link)
» Missile details: Musudan, Shahab 4
