Munitions

Anti-aircraft missiles

Also known as
  • Ship-launched SAMs
  • Destroyer-launched anti-aircraft missiles
  • Pantsir-M missiles
  • Pantsir-ME missiles
  • Naval surface-to-air missiles

Ship-launched surface-to-air missiles documented in the Choe Hyon destroyer's air-defense fit. CSIS identifies the destroyer's air-defense system as Russian Pantsir-M and reports anti-aircraft missile launches during the 28 April 2025 test activity, while Naval News separately notes an unspecified forward VLS-launched SAM and a Pantsir-M-style close-in weapon system with short-range missiles. The exact North Korean missile designation remains publicly unconfirmed.

Anti-aircraft missiles, Ship-launched surface-to-air missile, Munitions
Image source: Al Jazeera gallery: North Korea commissions warship as Kim eyes nuclear navy
Profile / Specs

Profile

Origin
Russia; documented on a North Korean launch platform
Built in
Russia
Type
Ship-launched surface-to-air missile
Service note
2025-present

Specifications

Launch platform
Choe Hyon destroyer
Documented launch date
28 April 2025
Reported air-defense system
Russian Pantsir-M / Pantsir-ME-style shipborne air-defense missile-gun system
Likely SAM cells
CSIS assessed 44 VLS cells as likely surface-to-air missile cells
Pantsir-ME missile envelope
20 km radius and 15 km height, according to Rostec
Simultaneous Pantsir-ME engagements
Up to four targets within a 90-degree sector, according to Rostec
Pantsir-family missile reference
57E6-family two-stage radio-command-guided surface-to-air missile with a 20 kg blast-fragmentation warhead
Role
Point defense against aircraft, UAVs, cruise missiles, air bombs, and anti-ship missiles
Identification caveat
Exact North Korean missile designation not publicly confirmed
Identification Evidence

The public record supports the missile role and launch platform more strongly than a single confirmed missile designation.

Evidence laneWhat it supportsCatalog treatment
CSIS launch analysisRussian Pantsir-M air-defense system on Choe Hyon; 44 likely SAM VLS cells; anti-aircraft missile launches on 28 April 2025.Supports the relationship-only missile page and Choe Hyon launch-platform link.
Naval News imagery analysisForward VLS launch of an unspecified SAM and a Pantsir-M-style close-in weapon system with short-range missiles.Supports the designation caveat and avoids overclaiming the exact missile model.
Rostec Pantsir-ME descriptionShipborne missile-and-gun air-defense role, 20 km missile radius, 15 km height, and simultaneous target engagement context.Supports Pantsir-M/Pantsir-ME-style system specifications without treating the North Korean missile designation as confirmed.
Launch Platform

Public evidence ties the missiles to the Choe Hyon destroyer rather than to a separately confirmed North Korean missile designation.

LauncherLauncher typeLaunch evidence
Choe Hyon destroyer, Guided-missile destroyer, Naval SystemsChoe Hyon destroyerGuided-missile destroyer

CSIS reported anti-aircraft missile launches from the Choe Hyon during 28 April 2025 test activity; Naval News also identified a forward VLS SAM launch in the same testing period.

Sources: CSIS: North Korea Launches the Choe Hyon Guided Missile Destroyer, Naval News: Heavily Armed Missile Destroyer Joins North Korean Navy

Designation caveat

The page uses a generic munition name because public reporting identifies the role, launch platform, and Pantsir-M/Pantsir-ME-style context more clearly than it identifies the exact North Korean missile designation.

Sources: CSIS: North Korea Launches the Choe Hyon Guided Missile Destroyer, Naval News: Heavily Armed Missile Destroyer Joins North Korean Navy

Launch Platform Context

The Choe Hyon destroyer provides the documented platform context for this relationship-only munition page.

PlatformAir-defense evidenceLimit
Choe Hyon destroyer, Guided-missile destroyer, Naval SystemsChoe Hyon destroyerReported to carry a Pantsir-M/Pantsir-ME-style air-defense fit and to have launched anti-aircraft missiles during 28 April 2025 weapons testing.Sources do not publicly confirm the exact missile designation or whether North Korea acquired complete Russian systems, licensed production, or a local adaptation.
Timeline

Anti-aircraft missiles Key Events

  1. Pantsir-ME shown for export

    Rostec presented Pantsir-ME as a shipborne missile-and-gun air-defense system with a 20 km missile radius and 15 km engagement height.

    Sources: Rostec: Pantsir-ME Naval System Abroad

  2. Choe Hyon launch display

    Open-source analysis of the launch ceremony associated the destroyer with Pantsir-M/Pantsir-M-style air-defense equipment and other shipborne missiles.

    Sources: CSIS: North Korea Launches the Choe Hyon Guided Missile Destroyer, Naval News: Heavily Armed Missile Destroyer Joins North Korean Navy

  3. Anti-aircraft missile test launch

    CSIS reported that North Korea conducted anti-aircraft missile launches from the newly launched Choe Hyon during weapons testing near Nampo.

    Sources: CSIS: North Korea Launches the Choe Hyon Guided Missile Destroyer

  4. Launch platform commissioned

    Al Jazeera reported the Choe Hyon's commissioning at Nampho and described the ship as carrying anti-aircraft weapons among its broader missile fit.

    Sources: Al Jazeera gallery: North Korea commissions warship as Kim eyes nuclear navy

Media

Anti-aircraft missiles Images

Anti-aircraft missiles, Ship-launched surface-to-air missile, Munitions - view 1
Source: Al Jazeera gallery: North Korea commissions warship as Kim eyes nuclear navy
Related Weapon Systems
Pantsir-M, Naval missile-gun close-in air-defense system, Air DefenseAir DefensePantsir-MNaval missile-gun close-in air-defense systemPantsir-M is the Russian naval member of the Pantsir missile-gun air-defense family, combining ready-to-fire surface-to-air missiles, a rapid-fire gun mount, radar, and optical fire control for ship self-defense against cruise missiles, UAVs, aircraft, and other air threats. Open reporting ties the system to Project 22800 Karakurt-class ships, North Korea's Choe Hyon destroyer, and a Russian claim of Storm Shadow engagements during the 2014 Russia-Ukraine War.
JL-3 submarine-launched ballistic missile, Submarine-launched ballistic missile, MunitionsMunitionsJL-3 submarine-launched ballistic missileSubmarine-launched ballistic missileThe JL-3 is a Chinese solid-fueled submarine-launched ballistic missile reported as the CSS-N-20 and as a longer-range follow-on to the JL-2 for China's sea-based nuclear deterrent. U.S. Department of Defense reporting says China probably fielded the missile on Jin-class Type 094 submarines, while specialist assessments caution that the pace of JL-2 replacement and exact payload details remain publicly uncertain.
Kang Kon destroyer, Guided-missile destroyer, Naval SystemsNaval SystemsKang Kon destroyerGuided-missile destroyerKang Kon is North Korea's second Choe Hyon-class guided-missile destroyer, a 5,000-ton warship built at Chongjin, damaged during its first launch attempt, repaired and relaunched at Najin/Rajin, and then observed during June 2026 navigation trials. Open-source reporting treats the hull as a pending Korean People's Navy surface combatant rather than a combat-proven warship, with its final weapons integration and acceptance status still dependent on North Korean state reporting.
Pantsir-S1, Self-propelled short-range surface-to-air missile and anti-aircraft gun system, Air DefenseAir DefensePantsir-S1Self-propelled short-range surface-to-air missile and anti-aircraft gun systemThe Pantsir-S1 is a Russian mobile point-defense system that combines 57E6-family command-guided surface-to-air missiles, twin 30 mm 2A38M automatic cannon, target-acquisition radar, engagement radar, and electro-optical fire control on a wheeled combat vehicle. It is designed to protect military units, air-defense sites, infrastructure, and longer-range air-defense formations against aircraft, helicopters, cruise missiles, precision weapons, and UAVs, with documented or reported conflict relevance in Ukraine, Syria, Libya, Yemen, and Sudan.
Pantsir-S2, Self-propelled short-range surface-to-air missile and anti-aircraft gun system, Air DefenseAir DefensePantsir-S2Self-propelled short-range surface-to-air missile and anti-aircraft gun systemThe Pantsir-S2 is a Russian modernized member of the Pantsir missile-gun air-defense family, retaining the truck-mounted 57E6-family missile and twin 30 mm gun layout while adding a new SOTS S-band search radar and longer stated missile reach than the baseline Pantsir-S1. Open sources place the variant in Russian service from 2015, in Russia's Syrian deployment at Hmeymim, and in Russian service during the 2014 Russia-Ukraine War.

Sources

CSIS: North Korea Launches the Choe Hyon Guided Missile DestroyerPublisher: Center for Strategic and International Studies | Note: Supports the Choe Hyon's Russian Pantsir-M air-defense fit, likely surface-to-air missile VLS cells, and the April 28, 2025 anti-aircraft missile launch context. | Accessed: 2026-06-29Naval News: Heavily Armed Missile Destroyer Joins North Korean NavyPublisher: Naval News | Note: Supports the Choe Hyon SAM-launch imagery context, the unspecified SAM designation caveat, and the Pantsir-M-style close-in air-defense fit. | Accessed: 2026-06-29Rostec: Pantsir-ME Naval System AbroadPublisher: Rostec | Note: Official Rostec release supporting Pantsir-ME shipborne air-defense role, missile engagement envelope, and simultaneous-target context. | Accessed: 2026-06-29Pantsir S-1Publisher: Center for Strategic and International Studies Missile Threat | Note: Supports Pantsir family manufacturer background and 57E6-family missile characteristics used as a reference point for the reported Pantsir-M/Pantsir-ME-style fit. | Accessed: 2026-06-29Al Jazeera gallery: North Korea commissions warship as Kim eyes nuclear navyPublisher: Al Jazeera | Note: Supports the Choe Hyon commissioning context, anti-aircraft-weapons context, and image provenance for the Choe Hyon photographs used on this relationship page. | Accessed: 2026-06-29