Technical Improvements of North Korean Missiles After Field Testing on the Ukrainian Battlefield
The Korean Central News Agency released footage of Kim Jong-un visiting a factory on February 11, which has production facilities for the "Mars-11" type KN-23/KN-24 ballistic missiles.
A total of approximately 90 KN-23/KN-24 ballistic missile engines can be seen in the footage.
However, this is not the core content of this news. The key point is that the Ukrainian professional intelligence platform, which has always been highly focused on North Korea's defense industry, noticed Figure 8, which captured an improved instrument compartment of this type of North Korean ballistic missile. The Ukrainian platform stated that this instrument compartment now has new process openings with radio-transparent hoods, and they speculate that these openings are reserved for controllable radiation antenna arrays (CRPA antennas) for anti-jamming satellite navigation systems. Additionally, the old openings previously located at the front of the engine, used for installing global navigation satellite system (GNSS) antennas, have been removed.
To make a comparison, the Ukrainian side also released an archived photo of a KN-23/KN-24 ballistic missile debris (Figure 10).
The conclusion that can be drawn is that although the available information for such analysis is still not sufficient, combined with previous information about the less than satisfactory accuracy of the KN-23/KN-24 missiles, this upgrade approach is completely in line with expectations. Meanwhile, the practical experience from the current Russia-Ukraine war is becoming a valuable reference for countries around the world to improve a series of weapons and equipment.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1852617480727552/
Statement: This article only represents the views of the author.