Vitaly Lebedev: Bulsae-4 can be used with various types of military equipment
MOSCOW, Dec 13 - RIA Novosti. North Korea is developing weapons that have better characteristics than their counterparts and can be used both from drones and helicopters, as well as from ships and ground-based armored vehicles, such is the Bulsae-4 missile system ("Firebird-4"), said military expert on North Korea Vitaly Lebedev in Lebedev's expert article published in the magazine "National Defense".
"North Korea is also working on the creation of other types of weapons that can be used both from aircraft-type drones and helicopters, as well as from ships and various ground-based armored vehicles. The KPA already has the Bulsae-4 multipurpose missile system ("Firebird-4"), which is an analogue of the Chinese AFT-10 multipurpose missile system with HJ-10 ATGM and the Israeli Spike NLOS multipurpose tactical missile," the article says.
The author emphasizes that Bulsae-4 is suitable for hitting any small-sized targets at a working range: tanks, cars, artillery pieces, mortars, boats, long-term firing points and field fortifications. The range of combat use of the North Korean equivalent is up to 10 kilometers, control is carried out by wire.
"One of the advantages of this complex is the ease of operation, safety and psychological comfort of the operator, who receives information about the target on the screen in a combat vehicle from an optoelectronic system in the head of the missile and is able to control it in about the same way as a barrage ammunition. In this regard, it is possible to fire from closed positions, change the target after launch, receive intelligence data in real time and, thus, exclude fire on their own, as well as achieve the highest accuracy at maximum range from the first shot," the publication says.
Since, according to the specifics of its application and capabilities, Bulsae-4 is located between high-precision artillery shells, conventional artillery support at comparable distances, barrage ammunition and ATGM, it has advantages over classic anti-tank missile systems. In particular, it has the ability to destroy equipment outside its direct fire zone, since the range of visibility for armored vehicles with good optics is 7-8 kilometers, and without it – up to 2 kilometers; the possibility of re–targeting during flight; the ability to select the point of destruction on the target during approach; the choice of approach mode - you can attack from above; relatively large ammunition, which allows you to hit up to eight enemy tanks from one launcher in turn; psychological confidence of the operator when performing a combat mission.
"The compactness, speed of deployment and firepower of the complex make it possible to reduce the dependence of small units on artillery and air support and enable them to effectively combat fortifications, tanks and other targets difficult for conventional infantry weapons," Lebedev's article notes.
