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North Korea: Development of Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missile Continues By Joseph S. Bermudez Jr. 14 October 2015 Commercial satellite imagery indicates that North Korea is continuing the development of a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) at the Sinpo South Shipyard, including planning for a test of the vertical launch tube intended to fire the weapon. These developments may account for a CNN report on October 9—the eve of the 70th anniversary of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK)—that US officials believed the DPRK might conduct an SLBM test soon.

SLBM play crucial role in Kim Jong Un era Jeong Hye Young | 2015-07-27 15:27 The development of submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBM) starting five years is key fixture of Kim Jong Un’s plans to build up asymmetric power and sustain the regime, a scholar at the forefront of these issues asserted at a recent seminar held in Tokyo. Seo Jae Pyeong, the general secretary of Committee for the Democratization of North Korea, spoke at a seminar titled “North Korea’s outlook after the execution of Hyon Yong Chol,” hosted by Unification Media Group on July 24th, opined that North Korea has...

N. Korea conducts ejection launcher test for submarine missile: report 2014/11/22 03:48 WASHINGTON, Nov. 21 (Yonhap) -- North Korea has conducted a test of an ejection launcher that helps fire missiles from submarines in a sign that the communist nation is making progress in its efforts to develop a submarine-based ballistic missile, a news report said Friday. The land-based test simulated the initial stage of boosting a missile out of a submarine launch tube and is a sign that the rogue state is moving ahead with plans for underwater missile strike capabilities for a future nuclear-tipped missile, the Washington Free...

N. Korea launches ballistic missile submarine: gov't sources 2014/11/02 08:00 SEOUL, Nov. 2 (Yonhap) -- North Korea has launched a new submarine capable of firing ballistic missiles, military and government sources in Seoul said Sunday, raising further concerns over the North's evolving missile and nuclear threats. The communist country "imported a Soviet-era Golf-class diesel submarine and modified it," a government source said on condition of anonymity. The Soviet vessel was built in 1958 and decommissioned in 1990. "The new submarine is 67 meters long with a beam of 6.6 meters, and has a dived displacement in the 3,000-ton range," the...

S. Korea spots signs of N. Korea's submarine rocket development SEOUL, Sept. 14 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's military confirmed Sunday it has detected signs of North Korea's development of a submarine-based ballistic missile launch system. In a report to an opposition lawmaker, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said there is an indication that the North is developing a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM). "There is no intelligence yet that North Korea has an SLBM in operation. But the possibility of a North Korean submarine equipped with an SLBM has been detected recently," the JCS said in the document submitted to...

India has secretly test fired its most potent submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), which gives it the capability to nuclear-bombard a target on land 3,000 km away from an undersea firing platform. The successful maiden launch of the K-4 on 24 March marks one of the most significant advances in its nuclear weapons programme, say sources. This came ahead of the 16th anniversary of the 11 May 1998 Pokhran-II detonations, when India declared itself a nuclear weapons state. "The K-4 is a worthy successor to the 750-km-range K-15 (also known as the B-05), India's first undersea missile, and extends India's strike...

India successfully testfired its submarine-launched version of BrahMos supersonic cruise missile for the first time on Wednesday in the Bay of Bengal off the coast of the southern port city of Visakhapatnam, a top official said. "The submarine-launched version of BrahMos was successfully testfired from an underwater pontoon near Visakhapatnam in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. This is the first testfiring of an underwater supersonic cruise missile anywhere in the world and the missile traveled its complete range of over 290 km," Head of BrahMos A. Sivathanu Pillai told the media. With the testfiring, India became the world's first...

Technically, ballistic missile system Bulava is ready to be commissioned into Russian Navy, said its commander-in-chief Vice Admiral Viktor Chirkov on June 25 at the graduates honoring ceremony held in the Konstantinovsky Palace, St. Petersburg. "At present, we're preparing legal documents required to put the missile in service", said the naval chief. VADM Viktor Chirkov also pointed out that the lead submarine of Project 955 Borei K-535 Yury Dolgoruky would be commissioned before the Russian Navy Day which is to be celebrated on July 29 this year.

St. Petersburg City Court gave sentence to two professors of Baltic State Technical University (Voenmech) founded guilty of espionage for China. Yevgeny Afanasiev got 12.5 years of close confinement, and Svyatoslav Bobyshev – 12 years, reports Interfax. According to a source in security agencies, the teachers were charged of providing China with secret information about submarine-based ballistic missile Bulava and its developer, Moscow Thermotechnics Institute. According to investigators, the accused persons being on working trip in China in May-June 2009 handed over classified information to Chinese intelligence service for pecuniary reward.

Pentagon Unveils New Plan for Conventional Submarine-Based Ballistic Missiles The U.S. Defense Department plans to develop a new conventional ballistic missile for fielding on attack submarines, according to major budget decisions announced on Thursday at the Pentagon (see GSN, Dec. 23, 2011). “The Navy will invest in a design that will allow new Virginia-class submarines to be modified to carry more cruise missiles and develop an undersea conventional prompt strike option,” Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said at a press conference. Obama administration national security leaders -- like their Bush administration predecessors -- have touted the idea of developing conventional military...

Reports are swirling around that the People’s Liberation Army Navy has successfully tested Submarine Launched Ballistic Missiles. If so, this achievement would represent an important advance in China’s strategic capabilities. Norman Polmar, the respected naval and intelligence author. mentioned this at a presentation Wednesday evening while discussing his new book, Project Azorian. Since then, we’ve been trying to get more details. Polmar says in an email that the missile test submarine is a Soviet-built Project 629/Golf diesel-electric submarine. The only public mention of this so far (in English) comes in a South Korean newspaper, the Chosun Ibo. This is what...

The secret 'K' missile family November 20, 2010 In a dramatic breakthrough in its nuclear offensive capability, India has successfully tested a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) with an eventual range of 3,500 km. Tested secretly off Visakhapatnam in January this year, the 10-m long and 1.3-m wide missile emerged from a pontoon submerged 50 m underwater and breached the surface. Painted black and white so that it can be distinguished in water, it has passed a critical parameter. Named after India's missile man, former President APJ Abdul Kalam, the nuclear-tipped K-4 is quite significant in a batch of new-generation counter-strike...

A recent military parade in North Korea featured the first public appearance of the long rumored RSM-25 (or Musudan) missile. This is a variant of the Russian SS-N-6 submarine launched missile. The North Korean version is believed to weigh 20 tons and have a range of over 3,000 kilometers. But there have been no tests, so it's uncertain if the North Koreans have been able to make the Russian design work for them. The SS-N-6 is a 1960s vintage ballistic missile, and is known in Russia as the R-27. SS-N-6 is a NATO code name for the R-27. This was...

A test warhead from a Bulava submarine-launched ballistic missile successfully hit its target on the Kura test range in Russia's Far East Kamchatka region, the Defense Ministry said on Thursday. The missile was fired from the Dmitry Donskoy submarine in the White Sea. Bulava test launches were put on hold after a failed launch on December 9, 2009, which was caused by a defective engine nozzle. The Bulava (SS-NX-30), a three-stage liquid and solid-propellant submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), has officially suffered seven failures in 13 tests

A state investigation commission has recommended the continuation of tests on the troubled Bulava ballistic missile following a probe into the most recent test failure, a first deputy defense minister said on Wednesday. Only 5 of the 12 Bulava launches have been officially reported as successful and late last month the commission sent the government the results of its investigation into the latest failure: a launch from the Dmitry Donskoy cruiser in the White Sea in early December 2009. "The state commission, which had been set up to investigate the failed launches of the Bulava, completed its work in June...

Because of opposition from the Liberal Democrats to the program, Britain's new government will revisit the costs of replacing the Trident nuclear deterrent. Once first results trickled in, it was clear that Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg would be the kingmaker. And he was. Now the junior partner in a coalition with Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservatives, Clegg will try to leave a mark in British politics over the next years. There is hardly any issue on which both parties are so starkly apart than military spending. While the Conservatives have accused Gordon Brown's Labor government of underfunding the armed...

A special investigation commission will announce on May 20 the official results of a probe into the latest failure of Russia's ill-fated Bulava ballistic missile, the Navy commander said on Friday. The latest launch of the missile, which Russia hopes will be a key element of its nuclear forces, from the Dmitry Donskoy nuclear submarine in the White Sea ended in failure in early December 2009. Only five of 12 Bulava launches have been officially reported as being successful. "The conclusions of the commission will be announced on May 20," Adm. Vladimir Vysotsky said. He added that the Russian military...

Yury Solomonov, the designer of the troubled Bulava ballistic missile, said that the poor state of the Russian defense industry was the main cause of the weapon's failed test launches. Solomonov resigned from his post as general director of the Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology (MITT) in July 2009 after a series of unsuccessful Bulava tests, but retained his post as general designer of the missile. "I can say in earnest that none of the design solutions have been changed as a result of the tests. The problems occur in the links of the design-technology-production chain," Solomonov said in an...

The Obama administration is insisting that the new Strategic Arms Reduction Talks treaty (START) will not limit U.S. missile defenses. But Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters in Moscow that Russia believes the treaty will limit U.S. missile defenses to current levels and that any increase would result in Moscow pulling out. The treaty has three levels: Text and protocols on basic rights and obligations and technical annexes. None of the details have been made public. The treaty limits each side to 1,550 warheads on deployed ICBMs. Deployed SLBMs count toward this limit and each deployed heavy bomber equipped...

A review of U.S. nuclear strategy found that the country should continue with a "robust" ballistic-missile submarine program, which bodes well for Electric Boat since the company is working on the design of the next-generation ballistic-missile submarine. The Nuclear Posture Review states that ballistic-missile submarines are the "most survivable leg of the U.S. nuclear triad" of nuclear-capable missiles, aircraft and submarines. There appears to be no "viable near or mid-term threats" to the survivability of these submarines, the review said. EB President John P. Casey called this language "encouraging." "The skilled workers of Electric Boat look forward to working with...