South Korea’s New Chunmoo 3.0 Unifies Loitering-Munition Missile and Coastal Anti-Ship Strike.

Hanwha Aerospace publicly presented the Chunmoo 3.0 concept at Seoul ADEX 2025, describing a K239-based launcher that adds a dedicated loitering-munition missile and a coastal anti-ship option to its guided rocket loadouts. The move aims to compress the kill chain for land and littoral missions, while positioning Korea to export an organic ISR and precision fires package as ADEX hosts more than 600 companies from 35 countries.

SEOUL, South Korea: Hanwha Aerospace utilized the opening days of Seoul ADEX 2025 at KINTEX to unveil Chunmoo 3.0, the next iteration of the K239 multicaliber rocket system. Company materials and briefings describe a unified concept that pairs the launcher’s familiar two-pod architecture with a new L-PGW loitering-munition missile and an anti-ship ballistic option, creating a single platform that can locate, identify, and neutralize targets on land or at sea. The loitering-munition carrier as part of an L-PGW100 family for Chunmoo, while earlier disclosures showed the anti-ship ballistic missile concept mated to the K239 for coastal defense. The broader ADEX backdrop underscores the theme, the largest edition to date, with a heavy focus on uncrewed systems and AI-enabled decision support.
Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link

The new feature highlighted at ADEX is the integration of a loitering munition launched from a dedicated missile, identified as an L-PGW capability that Hanwha is developing for the Chunmoo family(Picture source: Hanwha)

The core of the system remains the K239, a road mobile modular MLRS that entered service in 2015 after development began in 2009. The launcher uses an 8×8 chassis with a three-person crew and carries two sealed pods that accept several munition families. Established options include 36 unguided 131 mm rockets per pod, 12 rockets of 227 mm compatible with the M270 family per pod, guided 239 mm rockets with an approximate range of 80 km, and a 600 mm tactical rocket advertised up to nearly 290 km. This dual pod architecture is not simply ergonomic; it allows mixed loads and therefore blended salvos according to the desired effect.

The new feature highlighted at ADEX is the integration of a loitering munition launched from a dedicated missile, identified as an L-PGW capability that Hanwha is developing for the Chunmoo family. The approach combines reconnaissance, tracking, and terminal strike from the same launcher and turns the artillery unit into an autonomous reconnaissance fires node. These announcements align with Hanwha’s communications over the past year to make Chunmoo 3.0 a land-based sensor shooter able to generate organic ISR and conduct time-sensitive strikes.

Another element now presented publicly is the anti-ship capability. In 2024, Hanwha unveiled an anti-ship ballistic missile intended for the K239, designed for coastal defense and sea denial. The company’s communication remains limited on flight parameters and warhead details, but the capability message is straightforward: add a shore-launched anti-ship arrow to guided land rockets and give ground forces a credible sea-to-land effect from an 8×8 truck. This direction completes the 3.0 logic by adding a maritime mission to a proven land launcher.

Materials released by Hanwha in support of the concept, computer-generated images, and a promo clip, emphasize a unified sequence: detection, identification, strike, and battle damage assessment, against land targets or surface vessels at short and medium ranges. They show L PGW launched from the same carrier acting as a sensor shooter adjunct, followed by guided fires that exploit an updated track to an optimal aim point. The company also highlights a digital fire control station, shoot and scoot tactics to reduce exposure to counter battery fire, and interchangeable warheads for guided rockets, high explosive, air burst, penetrator, and multi-effect payloads. 

Tactically, Chunmoo 3.0 is intended to compress the kill chain. A battery employing L-PGW can generate its own ISR close to the target under EMCON, validate effects with organic BDA, and trigger a complementary 239 mm salvo almost immediately if required. The posture reduces reliance on scarce MALE or HALE sorties and eases demand on theater ISR networks; it also limits launcher exposure, as the loitering munition conducts the terminal phase while the launcher remains concealed. Integrated into the COP, this sensing and striking pair supports the advance of mechanized units or the opening of a corridor under SAM threat by neutralizing battery radars or C2 nodes before the main salvo. For coastal defense, the addition of an ASBM-type CTM ASBM provides ground forces with a mobile denial layer that constrains opposing naval movement in littoral approaches.

The Polish Homar K experience illustrates industrial maturity and export interest for this architecture. Warsaw integrates the launcher on the Jelcz 8×8 chassis, connects it to the Topaz fire control system, and has already received batches in 2023–2024, with local industrialization and ramp-up that support NATO demand for multicaliber pods adaptable to national C2. Beyond the design, the BITD and offset model is evident: a modular, localizable, interoperable launcher suited to rapid inclusion in an allied recognized maritime picture or common operational picture.

System coherence remains the condition for military value. Data links must carry tracks and authorities between launcher, LPGW, and higher echelons without saturating networks, and fire control software must consolidate drone-derived tracks into a COP usable at artillery tempo. At the unit level, the battery will manage inventories that mix guided munitions, loitering vectors, and unguided rockets, with support now including sensors, links, and test equipment. Training will need to clarify drone ownership during cross-boundary fires and deconflict corridors when L PGW operates under friendly artillery fans.

This development arrives as the precision fires market is being reshaped. ADEX 2025 confirms South Korea’s export ambitions and the rise of a K Defense ecosystem seeking market share in Europe and the Indo-Pacific. A Chunmoo 3.0 capable of organic ISR, guided strikes, and ASBM employment offers a scalable option for counter battery, interdiction, and coastal defense without relying solely on aviation or long-lead cruise missiles. For Europe, where Poland has already developed a Homar K line, the path to local assembly and expanded offsets is mapped. For Japan, Australia, and Türkiye, the prospect of a land launcher with a shore-based sea denial effect and an organic expendable sensor adjusts regional security balances and will weigh on future competitions.

Written By Erwan Halna du Fretay - Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group

Erwan Halna du Fretay is a graduate of a Master’s degree in International Relations and has experience in the study of conflicts and global arms transfers. His research interests lie in security and strategic studies, particularly the dynamics of the defense industry, the evolution of military technologies, and the strategic transformation of armed forces.