[kach22i]

http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?113552-Bluffers-guide-North-Korean-Naval-Power-2007&p=2545119&viewfull=1

Armament: 1 x main gun (57mm?), 30mm AAA
Length: 35 – 40m
Speed: 48kts

North Korea appears to have a Fast Attack Craft with significant radar signature reduction characteristics. That NK possesses stealth technology is not all that surprising since they exported torpedo boats with these features to Iran in about 2002 (Tir and Peykaap classes). But we’ve seen no evidence substantiating that NK operates similar stealthy torpedo boats.

The armament of this craft is not clear, except that there is a medium caliber main gun mounted on the foredeck and a smaller AAA turret on the aft deck. News source estimates are a 56mm gun and a 30mm gun – I’d guess that “56mm” refers to the more conventional 57mm. There is no apparent missile launchers but these could be incorporated into the superstructure to anti-ship missiles can’t be ruled out. The sensor fit appears minimal but then again the radar mast may be retractable as per other NK origin stealth and submersible boats.

The hull is very wide suggesting that it is a multi-hull or even a hovercraft. A key Korean news source describes it as a “hovercraft” but after careful consideration of the photo and satellite evidence I believe it to be a surface effect ship (SES) similar in principle to the infamous Soviet ‘Bora’ class, or for a more modern and stealthy comparison, the Norwegian Skjold class. SES’ are generally very fast which supports the news source’s 90km (48kts) estimate – which is damn fast. In simple terms SES combine a catamaran hull with an air cushion similar to a hovercraft between the hulls – consequently it is understandable that a non-military source may describe it as a hovercraft when translating into English. Indeed North Korea has a large number of hovercraft which it has been producing since 1987, but in this case the absence of a visible external propeller points away from ‘pure’ hovercraft and towards SES.

Evidentual leads:
Photo: http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/1...s1photobk6.jpg
Google Earth coordinates: 39 09 36N, 127 26 44E
Korean news article appearing to relate to this type (careful re translation): http://english.yna.co.kr/Engnews/200...1113046E0.html

General description of SES: Surface effect ship - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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