During the 1970s the Republic of Korea Navy decided to import Exocet anti-ship missiles to deter North Korean naval provocations. Considering the fact that the DPRK Navy is composed of numerous small to mid size ships, the need for a cheap small size guided anti-ship missile was proposed. In 1978 the Korean Agency for Defense Development (ADD) started the development of the Hae Ryong anti-ship missile, and by 1987 the ROK Navy approved for the mass production of the missiles. But because the Hae Ryong was fitted with a semi-active laser guidance system, limiting its tactical capability during bad weather. Additional pressure from the USA ultimately resulted in the termination of the project.
In 1990, the problem of large proportions of the defense budget going into buying anti-ship missiles from foreign countries was brought up. The ROK Navy ordered the ADD to develop a missile that was in par with or better in performance than the Harpoon Block 1C missile. The new missile was codenamed Hae Sung, and research of the following core missile technologies was started in 1996.
- Microwave Seeking System
- Inertial Navigation System
- Radio Altimeter
- Electronic Jamming system
- Turbofan Engine
After 7 years of research, on August 21, 2003, the ADD successfully test fired the Hae Sung-I and sunk the target dummy vessel. On December 20, 2005 the first production model was successfully fired from ROKS Dae Joyeong (DDH 977) KDX-II class destroyer.
| Hae Sung I | |
|---|---|
| Type | Anti-ship missile |
| Place of origin |  Republic of Korea |
| Service history | |
| In service | 2006-present |
| Used by |  Republic of Korea Navy |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Korea Agency for Defense Development (ADD) & Nex1 Future |
| Designed | 1996-2003 |
| Unit cost | ₩ 2,500,000,000 |
| Produced | 2004-present |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 718 kg |
| Length | 5.46 m |
| Width | 0.34 m |
| | |
| Operational range | 150 km |
| Speed | 1013 km/h (Mach 0.85) |
Production
33 units were delivered by 2007 for the first production phase of the missile. 100 more Hae Sung-I missiles are to be delivered to the ROK Navy by 2010.
| Production Phase | Production Date | Production number | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phase 1 | 2005–2007 | 33 | - |
| Phase 2 | 2008–2010 | 100+ | - |
