North Korean regime has publicly tested two new missile systems. The first has been informally dubbed Juche-HIMARS and is designed to fire two types of munitions, guided 240 mm rockets and Hwasong-11Ra ballistic missiles, a variant of the KN-23 that russia has used to strike Ukraine.
The second system has been given the broad designation Tactical Launcher for Cruise Missiles and appears to be a probable clone of the russian Hermes tactical missile system apparently upgraded with an increased number of launch rails. Work on the russian original dates back to the 1990s, with the last known reference to it appearing in 2023.
Read more: Three Years to Rebuild Patriot Stocks, Four for Tomahawk: U.S. Pays Price for Years of Underbuying
Official North Korean propaganda claims this Tactical Launcher for Cruise Missiles fitted with 22 launch rails — is intended for cruise missiles with a range of up to 100 km, reportedly guided by artificial intelligence.
A closer look at the imagery reveals what appear to be the bi-caliber rockets characteristic of the russian Hermes design. An open question remains, however: did North Korea receive the technical documentation for this project directly from russia and independently carry out the upgrade, or did the Juche regime simply take the cargo-cult approach and visually copy a design that caught its interest?
russia began work on the Hermes project in the 1990s as a replacement for the Luna-M tactical missile system, almost all of which was expended by Soviet forces during the war in Afghanistan. In configuration, Hermes resembles an MLRS six launch rails for bi-caliber 130/207 mm two-stage guided rockets with a declared range of up to 100 km and a 28 kg warhead.
For the Hermes guided missiles, russia claimed a fire-and-forget capability, with a probable target set including fortified positions and other stationary targets as well as armored vehicles and other mobile targets, guided by a combined seeker incorporating a radar homing head.
There is currently no evidence that the russian army has used the Hermes system in combat. It is entirely plausible that the russian military was never able to determine how to effectively employ such a system on the battlefield.
Defense Express previously reported that in May 2026 russia announced the start of deliveries of a HIMARS analogue called Sarma, said to have entered service in 2025 a system that has yet to be observed at the front.
Ivan Kyrychevsky, serviceman of the Raid 413th Unmanned Systems Regiment, Defense Express expert.
Translated by Taisiia Vivdych.
Read more: Did Iran Really Copy russian Pantsir SAM System, Install It on Tatra chassis?
