© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A check of North Korea’s new solid-fuel engines for an intermediate ballistic missile is carried out on this image launched by the Korean Central Information Company on November 15, 2023. KCNA by way of REUTERS/FILE PHOTO
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By Hyonhee Shin
SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea test-fired a intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) powered by stable gas on Monday, South Korean officers mentioned, in what can be the third such check this yr to spice up capabilities for launching with little preparation.
Seoul didn’t establish the particular missile, however nuclear-armed North unveiled its solid-fuel Hwasong-18 ICBM at a army parade in February and beforehand examined it throughout launches in April and July.
Final month North Korea additionally mentioned it had examined solid-fuel engines for an upcoming new-type of intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM).
Listed below are some traits of solid-fuel know-how, and the way it can assist the North enhance its missile methods.
WHAT ARE SOME ADVANTAGES OF SOLID FUEL?
Strong-fuel missiles don’t have to be fuelled instantly forward of launch, are sometimes simpler and safer to function, and require much less logistical help, making them tougher to detect and extra survivable than liquid-fuel weapons.
“These capabilities are much more responsive in a time of crisis,” mentioned Ankit Panda, a senior fellow on the U.S.-based Carnegie Endowment for Worldwide Peace.
WHAT IS SOLID-FUEL TECHNOLOGY?
Strong propellants are a mix of gas and oxidiser. Metallic powders resembling aluminium typically function the gas, and ammonium perchlorate, which is the salt of perchloric acid and ammonia, is the commonest oxidiser.
The gas and oxidiser are sure collectively by a tough rubbery materials and packed right into a metallic casing.
When stable propellant burns, oxygen from the ammonium perchlorate combines with aluminium to generate monumental quantities of power and temperatures of greater than 5,000 levels Fahrenheit (2,760 levels Celsius), creating thrust and lifting the missile from the launch pad.
WHO HAS THAT TECHNOLOGY?
Strong gas dates again to fireworks developed by the Chinese language centuries in the past, however made dramatic progress within the mid-Twentieth century, when the U.S. developed extra highly effective propellants.
North Korea makes use of stable gas in a spread of small, shorter-range ballistic missiles.
The Soviet Union fielded its first solid-fuel ICBM, the RT-2, within the early Nineteen Seventies, adopted by France’s growth of its S3, often known as SSBS, a medium-range ballistic missile.
China began testing solid-fuel ICBMs within the late Nineteen Nineties.
South Korea has additionally mentioned it has secured “efficient and advanced” solid-propellant ballistic missile know-how, although in a lot smaller rockets up to now.
SOLID VS LIQUID
Liquid propellants present better propulsive thrust and energy, however require extra advanced know-how and further weight.
Strong gas is dense and burns fairly shortly, producing thrust over a short while. Strong gas can stay in storage for an prolonged interval with out degrading or breaking down – a standard subject with liquid gas.
North Korea mentioned the event of its new solid-fuel ICBM, the Hwasong-18, would “radically promote” its nuclear counterattack functionality.
After the primary launch South Korea’s defence ministry sought to downplay the testing, saying the North would want “extra time and effort” to grasp the know-how.
