MLRS has always been a type of ground fire with extremely powerful attack power
Despite appearing for more than half a century, Multiple Launch Rocket Systems are still the mainstay of ground attack power at a reasonable cost
For South Korea, one of the new weapons produced by Hanwha Group is the K239 Chunmoo
also called the K-MLRS (Korean Multiple Launch Rocket System)
K239 was started development in 2009 and completed at the end of 2013
South Korea's Defense Agency for Technology and Quality spent 131.4 billion won ($112.4 million)
on the project to create a replacement for the K136 and initial production was carried out in August 2014.
In October 2014, South Korea announced the purchase of 58 K-MLRS
In August 2015, the ROK Army began deploying the Chunmoo
In concept the Chunmoo is similar to the US M270 MLRS artillery rocket system
Republic of Korea Army currently operates a total of 58 M270 systems
However the new Chunmoo is based on wheeled chassis rather than tracked
The Chunmoo also lacks launching rails
Rockets are launched from interchangeable modular containers
Rockets are factory fitted and sealed in containers and can be stored without any maintenance for a number of years
Vehicle carries two of these containers
Chunmoo is designed to be able to fire multiple caliber rockets
This includes 130mm, 227mm and 230mm rockets
A standard 130 mm rocket is 2.4 m long and weights 55 kg. It has a maximum range of 23 km
Extended-range rockets can reach 36 km
Other sources claim that newly developed rockets have a maximum range is 80 km
These artillery rockets are also being used by the current K136 Kooryong
Other Rockets, the 227 mm rocket, have a maximum range of 45 km, while the 230 mm have a maximum range of 80 km
Other sources claim that these rockets have a range of 160 km
Both guided and unguided rockets are available
Warheads include HE-FRAG, incendiary, smoke, illumination, cargo warheads with anti-tank or pre-fragmented anti-personnel submunitions
The vehicle can carry a combination of any two containers
The Chunmoo is based on an 8x8 truck chassis also manufactured by the Company Hanwha
The truck has an armored cab located at the front of the chassis that can accommodate a crew of three
It offers protection against the firing of small arms and artillery shell splinters
All the firing operations can be controlled from inside of the crew cabin or remotely from outside of the truck
The vehilce can run at a maximum road speed of 90 km/h with a maximum cruising range of 800 km
It can climb a gradient of 60% and a side slope of 30%.
It can cross a trench of 1.4m and a water obstacle of 1.2m deep
Each Chunmoo launcher vehicle is planned to be escorted by associated transport vehicle
which carries two sets of reload rockets and is fitted with a crane
The main role of the Chunmoo is to suppress North Korean artillery systems in case of a military conflict
It is worth noting, that North Korea has an enormous artillery force
The Chunmoo can also destroy fortifications, bridges and runways
One launcher with a full salvo covers an area the size of three football fields