Hwasong-11B

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

The Hwasong-11B is North Korea’s single-stage, solid-fueled tactical ballistic missile. It is seen as a battlefield-support missile, similar in idea to the US ATACMS and South Korea’s KTSSM, but it is larger and faster.

What it is and how it works
- Type and purpose: Short-range ballistic missile designed to hit targets on the battlefield.
- Size and payload: About 7.2 meters long and 1.1 meters in diameter, carrying a 400–500 kg warhead.
- Range and speed: Capable of about 410 kilometers (250 miles) and speeds up to around Mach 6.2.
- Guidance: Uses an inertial navigation system, with potential satellite navigation data to improve accuracy. Expected precision is roughly 35–200 meters.
- Flight profile: Flies a variable ballistic trajectory that stays relatively low (below about 50 kilometers) to improve survivability against defenses.
- Launch and canisters: Launched from either a tracked chassis or an 8×8 wheeled launcher. The missile is deployed from rectangular launch canisters.

Warhead options and role
- Warhead choices include a unitary or submunition payload, and it has been associated with the potential to carry a Hwasan-31 tactical nuclear warhead.
- The design is meant to be more accurate than older North Korean liquid-fueled missiles and to work in combination with missile defenses, reducing the number of missiles needed to hit a target.

Development and history
- Debut and tests: Publicly revealed in 2019, with flight tests in August 2019, March 2020, and ongoing demonstrations afterward.
- Public display and variants: Appeared in parades and military exhibitions, including a tan-colored version shown in 2021. It has been shown on various truck- and tracked-launchers in subsequent years.
- Production and deployment: By 2025, observers note several dozen launchers and continued testing, with some sources suggesting more than nine launchers in use or in testing.

Global context
- The Hwasong-11B is North Korea’s effort to field a capable, road-mobile battlefield missile that can threaten targets at medium range with relatively fast, precise strikes.
- There have been disputed claims about its use in conflicts abroad, including reports related to Ukraine, but the missile’s main significance remains its role in North Korea’s regional firepower and deterrence.