South Korea Shoots a Test Shot of its First Hypersonic Weapon Made in the Country Presidency
SEOUL: South Korea fired its first domestically developed hypersonic missile on Thursday, the presidential office claimed, days after Pyongyang said it had launched an AI-assisted intermediate-range hypersonic missile.
The presidential Blue House stated South Korean President Lee Jae Myung “watched the first test launch of a hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV) currently under research and development using domestic technology.
Hypersonic glide vehicles are launched on ballistic missiles or rocket boosters into the upper atmosphere, then glide toward their target at five times the speed of sound or more.
The South Korean statement stated the missiles’ unpredictable flight trajectories and overwhelming speed enable them to strike key strategic targets,” hailing a “key strategic asset capable of changing the course of the battlefield.
It claimed the test was intended to check the performance of ultra-high-temperature heat-resistant materials, a core technology for glide vehicles and guidance and control capabilities and the ability to fly irregularly at low altitudes under hypersonic flight conditions”.
North Korea, still technically at war with the South, has accelerated tests of its own hypersonic missiles with technical help from Russia, analysts say.
“In response, South Korea has also been putting a lot of effort into developing the technology – and can be said to have successfully tested it this time,” Hong Sung-pyo, a senior researcher at the Seoul-based Korea Institute for Military Affairs, told AFP.
Analysts say Moscow has been using hypersonic missiles in battle since before 2024.
The North said the Saturday launch included the use of AI, and that the missile, “capable of changing its flight orbit at a low altitude,” was “inevitable.
It also said the missile’s “wave-like trajectory mode” made it difficult for South Korea and Japan to track it properly.
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