The KN-06 (Pon’gae-5) is a North Korean surface-to-air missile. North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un declared the KN-06 weapons system operationally capable following a test on May 28, 2017.

KN-06 Development

In the early 2000s, North Korea began efforts to obtain advanced air defense systems to replace aging fleet of S-200 surface-to-air missiles.¹ After a protracted acquisition period, Pyongyang first displayed the KN-06 during a military parade on October 10, 2010.²

It is unclear how North Korea acquired the requisite technology for the KN-06. Given the KN-06’s sudden emergence and visual similarities to Russia’s S-300P and China’s HQ-9/FT-2000 systems, analysts have suspected that North Korea acquired the weapon through technology transfers with Russia or China. The KN-06 system’s missile body, phased-array radar, and truck-based transporter erector launcher (TEL) bear close resemblance to existing Russian systems. ³ Notably, the manufacturer of Russia’s air defense transporter-erector-launchers, KAMAZ, entered a joint production agreement with North Korea in 2007, constructing a plant in the North Korean city of Pyeongseong.⁴

Flight tests

North Korea has conducted three known flight tests of the KN-06 since its service introduction. In June 2011, South Korean news outlet Chosun Ilbo reported a successful test of a short-range missile, believed to be the KN-06, that flew 150 km before landing in the sea off North Korea’s western coast.⁵

On April 2, 2016, North Korean state media released images of Kim Jong Un attending a second flight test of the weapons system. Following a third test on May 28, 2017, Kim Jong-un declared that the missile had become operationally capable after “perfectly overcoming” defects identified in previous tests.⁶

Specifications

The KN-06,  also known as the Pon’gae-5, is a road-mobile surface-to-air missile system. Based on the system’s similarities with the Russian S-300 and Chinese HQ-9/FT-2000,  the KN-06 interceptor likely measures between 6.8 and 7.25 m in length, is .466 to .514 m in diameter, and weighs approximately 1300 to 1700 kg.⁷  South Korean media reports and the KN-06’s resemblance to the Russian S-300 could indicate a range of up to 150 km, which seems to be supported by the system’s performance in tests.

The KN-06 incorporates two Taepaekasan-96 6×6 trucks (a renamed or kit-assembled KAMAZ 55111 chassis) to transport the missile’s launch tubes and targeting radar. The KN-06 transporter-erector-launcher (TEL) can apparently fit up to three launch canisters.⁸ The KN-06’s targeting radar closely resembles Russia’s 5N63 “Flap Lid” radar, an X-band, phased-array radar employed in the Russian S-300P air defense system.⁹

Based on the number of truck assembly kits KAMAZ exported to North Korea, Pyongyang could produce as many as 156 KN-06 TELs.¹⁰ Like the foreign S-300P and HQ-9 systems, a KN-06 battery likely consists of one command post, one radar, and three to four TELs.¹¹

Service History

Kim Jong-un declared the KN-06 operational on May 28, 2017. Analysts suspects that North Korea may have deployed the system on several man-made islands near its missile development sites in Sohae.¹²