South Korea to Deploy New Bunker-Buster Missile

Defense News ,South Korea :-   South Korea is getting ready to use a powerful new missile they built themselves. It's called the Korean Tactical Surface to Surface Missile-I, or KTSSM-I. This missile is designed to take out North Korean artillery that's hiding in caves and tunnels.

The missile was made by Hanwha Corporation and the Agency for Defense Development. They worked on it from 2014 to 2017. Then, they started making lots of them in 2020 and started using them in 2022.

Here are some key things about the missile:

• It's big, at 400 millimeters.
• It can fly up to 180 kilometers (that's about 112 miles).
• The warhead can dig into the ground several meters.
• You can only launch it from fixed platforms.

But that's not all! They're already working on an even better version called KTSSM-II. This one will be even more powerful, with a range of 290 kilometers (180 miles). Plus, it'll be able to dig even deeper into the ground.

They're spending a lot of money on it, about 290 billion South Korean won (that's $218 million). They plan to finish making it by 2027, with the first test happening in January.

One big improvement with KTSSM-II is that it can be carried on a ground vehicle. This will make it easier to move around and use wherever it's needed.