In news– North Korea has recently fired its massive new Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), which may be the first successful launch of the system.
About the missile-
- It is a nuclear-armed North Korea’s biggest missile yet, and is the largest road-mobile, liquid-fuelled ICBM in the world.
- Its diameter is estimated to be between 2.4 and 2.5 metres, and its total mass, when fully fuelled, is likely somewhere between 80,000 and 110,000 kg.
- Unlike North Korea’s earlier ICBMs, the Hwasong-17 is launched directly from a transporter, erector, launcher (TEL) vehicle with 11 axles.
- According to Japan the weapon could travel as far as 15,000 km enough to reach the continental United States.
- The Hwasong-17’s size has prompted analysts to speculate that it will be designed to carry multiple warheads and decoys to better penetrate missile defences.
- North Korea previously claimed it had successfully launched a Hwasong-17 for the first time on March 24, 2022.
- North Korea first unveiled the previously unseen ICBM at an unprecedented pre-dawn military parade in October 2020, with analysts noting it appeared “considerably larger” than the Hwasong-15.
Source: The Indian Express
