MELBOURNE, Australia \u2013 Against a backdrop of rising tension over North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs, South Korea has announced that development of a new, extended-range, shipborne land-attack missile has been completed, and the missile will now go into serial production later this year, to enter service in 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Tactical Surface Launch Missile, or TSLM, which had been referred to as the Haeseong II in local media, can deploy an unspecified number of submunitions against an area target the size of two soccer fields. It can be used against installations as well as light armored or soft-skinned vehicles such as mobile missile launchers and support vehicles, according to an April 18 news release by the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, or DAPA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another feature of the missile is its ability to rapidly generate new flight paths in real time, which raises the possibility of it being able to rapidly take on new targets should a more important one be detected. DAPA also added that improved obstacle avoidance performance is built into the missile.\u00a0