South Korea has presented, for the first time, some images of its HYCORE hypersonic cruise missile, showing the weapon system during its testing. Until last week, the new weapon system had only been seen in public in the form of scale models and renderings. The new pictures show the missile being fired from a ground-based vertical launch platform, as well as the in-flight separation of the missile from the first of its 2 booster sections.

The project started in 2018, led by South Korea’s Agency for Defense Development (ADD), supported by Hanwha, with a first model publicly unveiled in 2021. Its first ground testing was conducted in 2022. According to some South Korean media, the HYCORE missile, should have a length of 28.5 feet (8.7 m), a weight of 5,290 pounds (2,400 kg), and a maximum speed of Mach 6.2; the range is still unknown at this stage. The new missile has a typical layout of a scramjet-powered hypersonic weapon, which involves using a booster motor to accelerate the missile to near-hypersonic speed in order to have the scramjet to work properly, before falling away. The South Korean missile is different from other similar hypersonic weapons for having two-stage solid-fuel rocket instead of one.

South Korea is likely to deploy the HYCORE system across land-based, naval, and air-launched platforms to address potential North Korean threats, including command and control nodes, with the aim of disrupting their defensive operations. Initial integration of the system is expected on the Korean Vertical Launch System II (KVLS-II) aboard KDX-III Batch 2 destroyers or on Republic of Korea Navy attack submarines. For airborne deployment, the HYCORE is anticipated to operate with the domestic KF-21 fighter, although its size presents some challenges; the F-15K SLAM EAGLE may be a more suitable platform due to its substantial payload capacity. In summary, the introduction of a hypersonic cruise missile would significantly enhance South Korea’s capability to conduct rapid standoff strikes, particularly against well-defended and time-sensitive targets.

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