Lack of US-made Components May Delay South Korea's Newest Missile System

Completion of South Korea's home-made short-range missile system, KTSSM could be delayed by four years because the United States is yet to approve the export of components essential to make the missile operational, local newspaper Hankyoreh and news agencies reported Wednesday.

The KTSSM surface-to-surface missile was successfully test-launched on Tuesday, the media reports said quoting the South Korean Military.

The test took place at the Agency for Defense Development in Anheung, and was attended by South Korean lawmakers on the National Assembly defense committee, who gave the launch a standing ovation after two missiles flew into the atmosphere, local news service EDaily reported and quoted by UPI.

South Korean lawmaker Kim Hak-yong said the KTSSM system is being delayed, with completion being postponed from 2019 to 2023 because the United States has yet to approve the purchase of more than 300 components, including a military GPS, according to Hankyoreh.

The Korea Tactical Surface-to-Surface Missile (KTSSM) is a  guided weapon system with a range of over 120 kilometres. It was first publicly displayed at the Korea ADEX exhibiton last week. Four missiles are launched in succession. It can neutralizie the enemy ‘s artillery and short-range missiles.

The KTSSM can penetrate underground targets with its powerful warhead. The new missiles can provide South Korea’s military with the capacity to destroy hardened artillery sites equipped with hundreds of long-range guns of the North.

The KTSSM is also capable of striking down Scud missiles fired from mobile launchers. North Korea is said to be an abundance of Soviet-era Scud missile which are essentially unguided projectiles relying on trajectory to home in on to their target.

The South Korea military has developed two versions of the weapons system: the KTSSM-I and KTSSM-II. Both systems launch thermal rockets that use a propellant that is externally heated before it is passed through a nozzle. The missiles are launched from a fixed platform.