Ure Tactical Surface-to-Surface Missile
우레 전술 지대지 유도탄
TypeTactical ballistic missile
Place of originSouth Korea
Service history
Used bySouth Korean Armed Forces
Production history
DesignerAgency for Defense Development
Hanwha Group
DesignedBlock I: 2014–2019
Block II: 2023–2032 (in development)[1]
ManufacturerHanwha Group
Unit cost₩800 million[2]
Produced2020–2025[2][3]
No. built200 (2020–2025)[2]
Specifications
Mass1.5 t (3,300 lb)[4]
Length4 m (13 ft 1 in)
Diameter600 mm (24 in)[4]
WarheadBlock I: thermobaric[5]
Block II: unitary high-explosive, or thermobaric[5]
Warhead weightBlock I: 500 kg (1,100 lb)
PropellantSingle-stage solid propellant
Operational
range
Block I: 180 km (110 mi),[4][6] 164 km (102 mi) in tested[2]
Block II: 290 km (180 mi)[6]
Guidance
system
GPS, Inertial guidance
Accuracy2 m CEP[6]
Launch
platform
Block I: fixed launcher platform[6]
Block II: transporter erector launcher (TEL)[6]

The Ure (Hangul: 우레; English: Thunder) or KTSSM (Korean Tactical Surface-to-Surface Missile) is a short-range tactical surface-to-surface missile (SSM) developed through the Lightning Project that began as a countermeasure against North Korea's conventional artillery raised in the wake of the Bombardment of Yeonpyong Island.[2]

The Block 1 for fixed launcher platform, which was developed in 2019, was jointly developed with Hanwha Group under the leadership of Agency for Defense Development (ADD) and is currently developing an improved Block 2 version to operate on various transporter erector launcher (TEL) platforms.[1][6]

Design and development

The Ure was developed with the intention of quickly neutralizing North Korean long-range artillery. Dubbed the "artillery killer," Hanwha Corporation designed the missile in partnership with the Agency for Defense Development (ADD). Four missiles can be launched almost simultaneously from a fixed launch pad and they can travel 120 km (75 mi); the launcher and missiles as a set have a combined cost of $1.9 million. They are GPS-guided to hit targets within two meters and have a shaped thermal warhead that can penetrate bunkers and hardened, dug-in targets several meters underground or 1.5 m (4.9 ft) of concrete.[4] While it resembles the American MGM-140 ATACMS missile, the Ure is cheaper and more accurate with a shorter range, though still adequate to perform the counterbattery role. There are two versions of the missile: Ure-1 for attacking M1978/M1989 Koksan 170 mm howitzers and M1985/M1991 240 mm unguided multiple rocket launchers (MRLs); and Ure-2, a self-propelled system tasked with engaging KN-09 300 mm MRLs and KN-02 short-range ballistic missiles, having a Block I version employing a thermal penetrating warhead and a Block II version with a unitary high-explosive warhead.[7][8][9][10]

Development lasted from 2014-2017 at a cost of USD$418 million, and it was successfully test-launched in October 2017. In March 2018, the South Korean Army announced it would create a new artillery brigade composed of Ure-2 and K239 Chunmoo multiple launch rocket systems with the aim of destroying North Korea’s hardened long-range artillery sites near the Korean Demilitarized Zone, to be inaugurated in October of that year. Fielding was planned for 2019, but initially postponed to 2023 because the United States had yet to approve the purchase of important components.[8][9][10] In 2019, it was reported that the Ure would be deployed in 2021.[11] In November 2020, Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) announced mass production would begin for the missile to enter service in 2022, with more than 200 units planned to be made by 2025.[12]

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.[13]

On 13 March 2023, the 150th Defense Project 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.[1]

On 11 May 2023, the South Korean Defense Agency for Technology and Quality (DTaQ) announced that it had successfully passed the quality certification launch test of Block I produced through the mass production process.[14]

Export

Poland

In October 2022, an agreement was signed to deliver 288 K239 Chunmoo K-MLRS to the Polish Land Forces. The first stage of the program has a supply of ammunition, including Ure-II TBMs, which is planned to ultimately be produced by Poland itself.[15]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "제150회 방위사업추진위원회 결과". Defense Acquisition Program Administration. 14 March 2023. Archived from the original on 14 March 2023. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Park Soo-chan (28 November 2020). ""합성사진 아냐?"… '홀인원' 기록한 국산 벙커버스터 배치된다 [박수찬의 軍]". Segye Ilbo. Archived from the original on 15 October 2022. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
  3. ↑ "제131회 방위사업추진위원회 결과". Defense Acquisition Program Administration. 25 November 2020. Archived from the original on 16 October 2022. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Korean Tactical Surface-to-Surface Missile (KTSSM)". Global Security. Archived from the original on 15 October 2022. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
  5. 1 2 Kim Gwan-yong (4 February 2018). "[김관용의 軍界一學]육군 게임체인저 'KTSSM', 北 장사정포 정밀타격". Edaily. Archived from the original on 15 October 2022. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Park Tae-jeong (27 April 2022). "차량탑재형 전술지대지유도무기(KTSSM-II) 개발". CNews. Archived from the original on 15 October 2022. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
  7. ↑ South Korea tests new missile capable of striking Scuds. UPI.com. 25 October 2017.
  8. 1 2 South Korea to deploy ‘artillery killer’ to destroy North Korean bunkers. Defense News. 19 March 2018.
  9. 1 2 South Korea: New artillery brigade equipped with KTSSM ballistic missile. Army Recognition. 21 March 2018.
  10. 1 2 South Korea Is Deploying Hyper-Precise Missiles to Protect Seoul from North Korea. The National Interest. 1 April 2018.
  11. ↑ Seoul describes new surface-to-surface missile. Korea JoongAng Daily. 13 August 2019.
  12. ↑ S. Korea to mass produce advanced tactical ground-based missiles by 2025. Yonhap News Agency. 25 November 2020.
  13. ↑ Shin Gyu-jin (22 December 2022). "[단독]사거리 80km '천무' 발사대로 200km 미사일 발사 성공". The Dong-a Ilbo. Archived from the original on 23 December 2022. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  14. ↑ "국방기술품질원, 전술지대지유도무기(KTSSM) 품질인증사격시험 성공". Defense Acquisition Program Administration. 11 May 2023. Archived from the original on 14 May 2023. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  15. ↑ Poland buying Korean made MLRS, continuing Seoul spending spree. Breaking Defense. 20 October 2022.

Chapter 4: The Korean Peninsula: North Korea’s Growing Nuclear and Missile Threat and South Korea’s Anguish

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