North Korean SRBM launch May 9th
So it looks like two Hwasong-Iskanders and at least four 240mm MLRS rockets were launched on 9 May. The reported 420 km and 270 km ranges indicate that the missiles are equivalent to the Iskander-M, which has a published range of 415 km. The transporter erector shows that two missiles are carried, like in the Iskander system. The photos show that the left missile was fired first, followed by the right missile.
Here are some photos from the 31 July test. The launcher has been censored.
The two missiles launched on 6 August UTC (7 August dawn local) were Hwasong-Iskanders. KCNA press release below.
"Pyongyang, August 7 (KCNA) -- Kim Jong Un, chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea, chairman of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and supreme commander of the armed forces of the DPRK, watched the demonstration fire of new-type tactical guided missiles at daybreak Tuesday.
After receiving the report on the plan for demonstration fire of new-type tactical guided missiles at the observation post together with the accompanying officials, Supreme Leader of the Party, state and armed forces Kim Jong Un saw the fire.
Two tactical guided missiles launched at the operational airfield in the western area of the country flied across the sky over the capital area and the central inland region of the country to precisely hit the targeted islet in the East Sea of Korea.
The demonstration fire clearly verified the reliability, security and actual war capacity of the new-type tactical guided weapon system.
Highly appreciating that the demonstration fire was carried out satisfactorily as intended, Kim Jong Un noted that the said military action would be an occasion to send an adequate warning to the joint military drill now underway by the U.S. and south Korean authorities."
KCNA reports that the 9 August UTC test was of a "new weapon". The missile looks similar to the US ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile System) missile, which has a range of "over 160 km" and a diameter of 0.61 m. I'm going to call it Hwasong-ATACMS for now.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MGM-140_ATACMS"Pyongyang, August 11 (KCNA) -- Kim Jong Un, chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea, chairman of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and supreme commander of the armed forces of the DPRK, guided the test-fire of a new weapon on August 10."
Kim Jong Un Guides Test-fire of New Weapon Again (video)
38 North article on the new LC-MLRS. Doesn't really add much new information.
https://www.38north.org/2019/08/vvandiepen080619/
Note the new CRBM class category of BM's
Here are the new BM specs:
Ballistic Missiles are typically classified into the following categories:
CLASSIFICATION ABBREVIATION RANGE
Close Range Ballistic Missile CRBM 50-300 km
Short Range Ballistic Missile SRBM 300-1000 km
Medium-Range Ballistic Missile MRBM 1000-3000 km
Intermediate-Range Ballistic Missile IRBM 3000-5500 km
Intercontinental Ballistic Missile ICBM > 5500 km
Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile SLBM Varies
Air Launched Ballistic Missile ALBM Varies
https://missiledefenseadvocacy.org/missile-threat-and-proliferation/missile-basics/ballistic-missile-basics/
There was a previous classification for the CRBM type of ordnance. They were known as battlefield support missiles.
The US and it's allies had a semi-ballistic battlefield support missile known as the MGM-52 Lance with either a cluster sub-munition dispenser or the W70 tac nuke in the 70s thru the 90s.
The MGM-52 Lance was partially replaced by the MGM-140 ATacMS guided missile with either a sub-munition dispenser for area attacks or a small unitary high explosive warhead for precision attacks.
The Soviets and the Chinese had a whole series of battlefield support missiles. Commonly known as Scuds and FROGs.
Launch of two "super-large" MLRS missiles on 24 August. These look to be same as the "large calibre" MLRS missiles launched on 31 July and 2 August. This time the launcher, carrying four tubes, has not been censored.
Pyongyang, August 25 (KCNA) -- Kim Jong Un, chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea, chairman of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and supreme commander of the armed forces of the DPRK, guided the test-fire of newly developed super-large multiple rocket launcher on Saturday.
Two videos showing stills from the Hwasong-ATACMS launches on 9 and 16 August. The first test was done from a beach.
Here's a screen grab showing the gigantic tracked vehicle used for Hwasong-ATACMS.
Launch of two "super-large" MLRS missiles on 24 August. These look to be same as the "large calibre" MLRS missiles launched on 31 July and 2 August. This time the launcher, carrying four tubes, has not been censored.
Pyongyang, August 25 (KCNA) -- Kim Jong Un, chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea, chairman of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and supreme commander of the armed forces of the DPRK, guided the test-fire of newly developed super-large multiple rocket launcher on Saturday.
The launcher and tubes have had their camouflage changed for the test and normal identification markings painted over. Only a single layer since previous pattern is barely visible.