The Republic of Korea Navy has conducted a test-launch of local-made Haeseong III cruise missile from Son Won II-class (Type 214) submarine. Haeseong III is a version of the Haeseong cruise missile designed to be launched underwater from submarines. The SSM-700K Haeseong (C-Star) Anti-ship Missile is a ship launched sea-skimming surface-to-surface anti-ship cruise missile developed by the South Korean Agency for Defense Development (ADD), LIG Nex1 and the Republic of Korea Navy in 2003.
The Haeseong III is a strategic weapon capable of being launched from a submarine that can stealthily approach the North Korean coast. Only a handful of countries have their own similar missiles. They include the U.S. (Tomahawk), the U.K. (Tomahawk), Russia (Klub-S), France (SCALP Naval), China, and India. The Haeseong III will be carried by a new Type 214 (Son Won-Il) submarine. The Republic of Korea Navy has ordered nine Type 214 submarines, designated as Son Won-Il-class, to be built in Korea by Hyundai Heavy Industries and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering.
The Haeseong III is said to be so accurate that they can hit a window-size target of 1-3 sq.m, and powerful enough to pulverize a soccer field-size area to rubble. The cruise missile is subsonic and takes about 20 minutes to fly up to 1,000 km. It would be launched from the torpedo tube of a submarine in a waterproof capsule. When the capsule breaks the water surface, its nosecap is blown off and the missile pops out.But they can hit only fixed targets, such as command posts or air bases, not moving targets like the mobile launch platforms of the North’s ballistic missiles.
