A new guided rocket system will be deployed to South Korea’s border islands as early as next year to better counter growing infiltration threats from North Korea’s hovercrafts, according to the state-run Agency for Defense Development.

Since 2012, the ADD has been developing the 2.75 inch-caliber rocket system with a budget of 70 billion won ($64.8 million). During the recent four rounds of testing, the system successfully hit targets, ADD officials said, noting the development project has proceeded well.

The ADD will test-fire six additional rockets by August and expects the new system will be deployed to the country’s northwestern frontline islands such as Baengnyeongdo and Yeonpyeongdo as early as next year.

“There will not be any blind spots in our security for the border islands after we deploy the new system there,” said an ADD official, declining to be named. “This system is seen as a core weapons system to target the fast-moving targets that are headed for South Korean territory.”

The 1.9 meter-long system, with a range of up to 8 kilometers, consists of a flying controller, infrared-ray seeker, a launching vehicle, a target acquisition and designation system, and other parts. It is the first time in the world that a rocket its size has been equipped with an infrared-ray seeker, the ADD said.

When a hostile hovercraft is caught moving toward the border islands, the target finder of the launching vehicle will identify the hovercraft and supply target information to the guided rocket, which will then hit the hovercraft.

The rocket system can detect multiple targets at the same time and incapacitate them some 20 seconds after launch, officials explained.

North Korea is believed to have built a large-scale base, which houses some 70 hovercrafts, in Goampo, South Hwanghae Province in 2012. Its infiltration threats have recently increased as Pyongyang carried out military drills aimed at infiltrating South Korean territory.

By Song Sang-ho (sshluck@heraldcorp.com)