What new type of missile weapon has North Korea shown, what is special about the Russian “Hermes” complex, and what could it all mean
The North Korean regime has publicly tested two new missile systems. The first of these was given the code name “Juche-HIMARS” and is designed for two types of missiles – guided 240-mm and ballistic Hwasong-11Ra, which act as a variant of the KN-23 used by the Russians for strikes on Ukraine.
The second system received the generalized name “Tactical launcher for cruise missiles” and looks like a probable “clone” of the Russian “Hermes” OTRK after an “upgrade” with an increased number of launch rails, on which work had been ongoing since the 1990s, with the last mention of it being in 2023.
Official North Korean propaganda claims that this “Tactical launcher for cruise missiles” with 22 launch rails is allegedly intended specifically for cruise missiles with a range of up to 100 kilometers, which are allegedly controlled by artificial intelligence.
If you look closely, you can see bi-caliber missiles there, characteristic of the Russian “Hermes” development. However, the question remains open – did North Korea directly receive developments on this project from the Russian Federation and independently carry out an “upgrade,” or did the Juche regime decide to go the “cargo cult” route and visually copy a development that interested them?
Defense Express has previously written about the Russian “Hermes” OTRK project in its publications. To briefly recall its basic features.
The Russians began work on this project in the 1990s, as a replacement for the “Luna-M” OTRK, almost the entire stock of which Soviet troops expended during the war in Afghanistan. In terms of configuration, “Hermes” looks similar to an MLRS – six rails for bi-caliber 130/207-mm two-stage guided missiles with a firing range of up to 100 kilometers and a warhead of 28 kilograms.
Regarding guided missiles for the “Hermes,” the Russians claimed the ability to fire in “fire-and-forget” mode, with probable targets including fortified objects and other stationary targets, armored vehicles and other mobile targets. The guidance system is combined, using an active radar homing head.
Currently, there is no data indicating that the Russian army has used the “Hermes” OTRK. It is quite likely that the Russian military could not decide on how to use such a system on the battlefield.
We also previously wrote that in May 2026, the Rashists announced the start of deliveries of a “HIMARS analogue” called “Sarma” in 2025, which has not yet been seen at the front.
Ivan Kyrychevsky, serviceman of the 413th SBS Regiment “Raid”, Defense Express expert