K239 Chunmoo

The K239 Chunmoo[note 1] (Romanization: K239 'Cheon-mu'; Hangul: K239 '천무'; Hanja: K239 '天橆') is a rocket artillery system developed in 2013 to replace the aging K136 Kooryong of the South Korean military.

K239 Chunmoo
천무 다연장로켓
Cheon-mu Da-yeon-jang Rocket
K239L Chunmoo vehicle on display at 2022 Gyeryong World Military Culture EXPO
TypeMultiple rocket launcher
Place of originSouth Korea
Service history
In service2015-present
Used bySee Operators
Production history
DesignerAgency for Defense Development (launcher)
Doosan DST (vehicle)
Hanwha (rocket)
Samyang Comtech (Armor)
Designed2009-2013
ManufacturerHanwha Aerospace (system)
Korea Defense Industry (rocket)
Unit cost₩3.6 billion (US$2.94 million) per one launcher+K239L vehicle (2020)[1][2]
Produced2014-present
No. built218[3]
Specifications
Mass31 t (31 long tons; 34 short tons)
Length9 m (29 ft 6 in)
Width2.9 m (9 ft 6 in)
Height3.3 m (10 ft 10 in)
Crew3 (K239L launcher vehicle)
2 (K239T ammunition support vehicle)
Caliber131 mm (K33)
230 mm (KM26A2)
239 mm (CGR080)
400 mm (GPS-aided INS)[4]
600 mm (CTM290)
Rate of fire6 rds/in 30 sec (CGR080)
Effective firing range36 km (K33)
45 km (KM26A2)
80 km (CGR080)
>200 km (400 mm rocket)
290 km (CTM290)
ArmorSamyang Comtech Steel / Ceramic + Polymer Matrix Composites (STANAG 4569 Level 2)[5]
Main
armament
20×2 K33 (unguided)
6×2 KM26A2 (unguided)
6×2 CGR080 (guided)
2×2 400 mm rocket (guided), in development
1×2 CTM290 (TBM), in development
EngineHD Hyundai Infracore DV11K 6-cylinder water-cooled Diesel engine
450 hp (340 kW)
Power/weight14.5 hp/t (10.81 kW/t)
TransmissionAllison Transmission 4500SP
Fuel capacity250 L (66 U.S. gal)
Operational
range
450 km (280 mi)
Maximum speed 80 km/h (50 mph)
Guidance
system
GPS-aided INS
Accuracy15 m CEP (CGR080 with high explosive warheads)
2 m CEP (Ure-II)

History

South Korea struggled to come up with countermeasures in the 1970s when North Korea deployed BM-21 Grad, a new multiple rocket launcher (MRL) brought in from the Soviet Union. At that time, the possibility of fatal casualties increased if towed howitzers, self-propelled howitzers, and multiple rocket launchers deployed by the North Korean military fired at the South Korea. The South Korean military developed the K136 Kooryong in 1978 to counter the threat of North Korean artillery. With the deployment of Kooryong to the South Korean Army since the 1980s, it was temporarily able to maintain a similar balance to North Korea's artillery power.[6]

However, over time, problems such as the discontinuation of the main parts of the aging Kooryong system have been revealed, and as North Korea developed a large-caliber rocket with a further increased range, the military pointed out that Kooryong has a limit to respond in wartime. Later, from 2009 to 2013, it developed a new multiple rocket launcher system with an automated fire control system compatible with the ammunition used in the M270 MLRS, which the South Korean military had previously operated, for replacing the aging Kooryong system.[6]

Design and development

The K239 Chunmoo is a self-propelled multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) capable of firing several different guided or unguided artillery rockets.

The K239 is capable of launching K33 131 mm rockets, but not 130 mm rockets (such as the K30, K37 and K38), which are used in the existing K136 Kooryong rocket artillery system. The K239 launcher carries two launch pods that can hold three types of rockets:

  • 20 K33 131 mm unguided rockets, previously used on the K136 Kooryong, with a range of 36 km (22 mi) (40 total).[7]
  • Six KM26A2 230 mm rockets which are based on the M26 227 mm unguided DPICM rocket used in M270 MLRS vehicles operated by the South Korean Army, with a range of 45 km (28 mi) (12 total).[8]
  • Six 239 mm chunmoo guided rockets (CGR080) with either high explosive penetration warheads, or cluster bombs with 300 bomblets, designed for the K239 Chunmoo with a range of 80 km (50 mi) (12 total).[9][10]

The CGR080 239 mm rockets are 3.96 m (13.0 ft) long and GPS-aided INS guided, and the rocket is designed to be equipped with two types of warheads, a high explosive warhead developed as a bunker buster, or a cluster bomb warhead, with hundreds of bomblets, for use against personnel in a wide area. The high explosive warhead bursts on impact for use against personnel and bursts after a delay to destroy bunkers; it was a requirement of the ROK Army for the guided rocket to have a penetrator warhead to be used as a bunker buster solution against the large number of bunkers along the DMZ. A guided rocket containing cluster bombs is capable of extensive artillery fire on a specific area of three times the area of a soccer field.[9]

Two different types of rocket pods can be loaded at once. The rocket pod can launch six 239 mm rockets in 30 seconds and a total of 12 rockets in one minute, and it's possible to reload two rocket pods in seven minutes. The launch vehicle is based on a Doosan DST (now Hanwha Defense) K239L 8×8 truck chassis with an armored cab that protects its 3-man crew from small arms fire and artillery shell splinters as well as providing NBC protection. The vehicle can climb 60% slopes (20 degrees), and is equipped with an Anti-lock Braking System (ABS), Run-flat tires, and a Central Tire Inflation System (CTIS).[11][12] Each Chunmoo launcher is paired with an K239T Ammunition Support Vehicle (ASV) which uses the same type of truck chassis and carries four reload pods.[11] An ROK Army Chunmoo battery consists of 18 vehicles and uses a K200A1 as a command vehicle.[13][14]

Origins

Development of the K239 Chunmoo began in 2009 and was completed in late 2013. South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) spent 131.4 billion won ($112.4 million) on the project to create a replacement for the K136 Kooryong MLRS. Initial production was carried out in August 2014. The main purpose of the Chunmoo MLRS is to suppress North Korea's artillery systems in case of war.

K239T Ammunition Support Vehicle (ASV)
  • In order to reduce operational and maintenance costs, the Chunmoo launcher system is mounted on the modified chassis of a four-axle Korean truck which has less cross-country ability when compared to tracked vehicles.
  • The artillery unit does not have permanently mounted launch rails. This allows the Chunmoo to transport and use launch containers containing different types of rockets from one platform.[15]
  • The cockpit of the vehicle is armoured to provides protection against small-calibre weapons and artillery shell fragments.[5]
  • It is equipped with a load-lifting device, similar to that of the MLRS. The estimated maximum recharging time is 10 minutes.
  • The Chunmoo system includes an ammunition transport and charging vehicle on a common 8x8 chassis, and carries two sets of transport and discharge containers.[11]
  • The Korean army requested that the Chunmoo be designed to fire different types of ammunition. This includes 227 mm standard MLRS, but also 131 mm and 239 mm South Korean rockets. The maximum range of the 131 mm ammunition is up to 36 km and approximately 80 km for the 239 mm ammunition.
  • Rockets can be fired from the cockpit of the combat vehicle, or by using a remote fire control device.
  • Chunmoo system was specified to be transportable by aircraft of the C-130 type, in order to be easily deployed.

Purchase and Deployment

In October 2014, South Korea announced the purchase of 58 Chunmoo MLRS. In August 2015, the ROK Army began deploying the Chunmoo batteries.[16][17]

Variants

Homar-K

Homar-K (English: Lobster-Wheeled) is a Polish multiple launch rocket system combining the improved K239 launcher and Jelcz P882 8x8 truck chassis. Built to meet Polish military requirements, the system will ultimately integrate a Polish-designed TOPAZ fire control system and be serviced with a South Korean CGR080 239 mm guided rocket produced in Poland under license and a 600 mm short-range tactical ballistic missile known as the CTM290 (Chunmoo Tactical Missile)[15] with a range of 290 km.[18] Hanwha Aerospace is undergoing further development to use the Polish 122 mm rocket in the Homar-K system.[19]

Improvements

Extended-range rockets

In June 2022, South Korean Agency for Defense Development (ADD) revealed efforts to increase the range of the Chunmoo's 239 mm rockets to 200 km (120 mi). This would give them range similar to the North Korean 300 mm KN-09. Research and development efforts are evaluating ducted rocket propulsion technology, which adds an air inlet that absorbs external air and combines it with a gas generator for combustion to produce greater thrust, as well as a valve that controls the flow of gas for maneuvering. There is also research into a larger 400 mm rocket, which the Chunmoo could carry four of.[20][21][4]

Ure-2 (CTM290)
Main article: Ure (missile)

On 27 April 2022, South Korean Defense Acquisition Program Administration announced a plan to develop a vehicle-mounted tactical surface-to-surface guided weapon (Ure-2). The purpose of this development project is to improve the existing Ure-1 to increase the range from 180 km (110 mi) to 290 km (180 mi) and integrate tactical ballistic missile systems into various types of Transporter Erector Launcher (TEL) such as the K239 Chunmoo. The development project is scheduled to begin in 2023 and plans to complete the development with a total budget of 1.56 trillion won (US$1.232 billion) by 2034.[22]

On 21 December 2022, the Agency for Defense Development conducted a public test of Ure-2 under further development at Anheung Proving Ground. The missile was mounted on the K239 Chunmoo vehicle and hit a target 200 kilometers away after it was launched.[23]

On 13 March 2023, the 150th Defense Acquisition Program Promotion Committee deliberated and approved the basic strategy and system development plan for developing a vehicle-mounted tactical surface-to-surface missile, and the revised plan included the agenda of completing the development of Ure-2 by 2032, two years earlier than the previous plan.[24]

Export

United Arab Emirates

In 2017, Hanwha Defense announced at ADEX (Aerospace & Defense Exhibition) in Seoul that it had signed a nondisclosure contract worth 700 billion won to export K239 Chunmoo to a certain country in the Middle East, and it was later revealed that the United Arab Emirates signed a supply contract with Hanwha Defense, including 12 K239 Chunmoos, 12 K239T Ammunition Support Vehicles, GPS-guided rockets, and munitions.[25][26] Later, In February 2021, 12 K239 Chunmoo systems and 12 K239T Ammunition Support Vehicles were delivered to the United Arab Emirates.[27]

Saudi Arabia

At the World Defense Show in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on March 9, 2022, Hanwha signed a defense export contract worth 1 trillion won (worth $800 million) with the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Defense, but details of the contract were not known.[28] It was later confirmed on 31 March 2023 that an unknown number of Chunmoo was being serviced by the Royal Saudi Land Forces.[29] As in the past cases with the UAE, it is presumed that it has signed a non-disclosure contract.

Poland

On 27 August 2022, Poland's defense minister, Mariusz Błaszczak, said there are ongoing negotiations to acquire South Korea's rocket artillery system.[30] On 13 October 2022, Polish Armament Agency announced that the negotiations with South Korea to acquire nearly 300 K239 Chunmoo systems had been completed and the framework agreement will be signed on October 17.[31][32] Poland had originally intended to procure 500 American M142 HIMARS launchers, but such an order could not be fulfilled in a satisfactory timeline, so decision was made to split the HIMARS order into two stages, buying less of them and adding Chunmoo procurement; the first South Korean launchers are to be delivered in 2023.[33] A supply contract for 288 Chunmoo MLRS mounted on Jelcz 8x8 chassis and equipped with Polish TOPAZ Integrated Combat Management System along with 23 thousand missiles with the range of 80 and 290 kilometers was signed in Poland on October 19, 2022.[34][35] On 20 August 2023, one Homar-K, which completed system integration and testing in South Korea, was deployed to the 18th Mechanised Division of the Polish Land Forces after being delivered to Poland.[36]

Operators
K239 Chunmoo operators

Current operators
 Poland
 Saudi Arabia
 South Korea – A total of 218 systems are in service in the Republic of Korea Armed Forces.[3][37][38]
 United Arab Emirates

Potential operators
  •  Norway: On 27 September 2022, Hanwha Defense signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Norway's Kongsberg Gruppen to introduce the K239 Chunmoo multiple rocket artillery system.[39]
  •  Romania: Romania has expressed interest in acquring Chunmoo launchers for part of its military modernization.[40]
  •  Spain: Spain is currently evaluating Chunmoo, Astros II and PULS systems, but the decision regarding a potential order of one of these systems has not been made.[41][42]

See also
  • K136 Kooryong - South Korea's 36 extended multiple rocket artillery system

Weapons of comparable role, performance and era

Notes
    1. The name Chunmoo (天橆) means to cover the sky. The name was given because the smoke from the rocket covered the sky when 20 131 mm rockets were launched in a row.

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