After President Trump’s failed attempt to broker peace on the Korean Peninsula, North Korea resumed ballistic missile tests in 2019. They have done so many since, it has become quite hard to keep track of them all. However, two tests, in September 2021 and in January of this year, stand out because the missiles were launched from a train. Putting missiles on a train makes some sense. If it were to come under attack, North Korea needs to ensure it can still launch its missiles. Mobile launchers make it much harder for an adversary to find and destroy them on the ground. And North Korea has poor roads but a fairly well-developed train network. Finding the launchers becomes a shell game; just about any box car in the country can house an unpleasant surprise.
The train in September consisted of a single Soviet-built M62 diesel locomotive; a very common type in communist countries. This pulled two freight cars. The first was a regular Chinese-built P61 box car. The second was externally similar, but it had an opening roof, extra doors in its side and launchers for two ballistic missiles inside. I admire the skill that goes into building a LEGO train, but the last time I built one was in 2014. And the one before that was in 2009, so it is fair to say that I rarely build trains. But North Korean missiles on a train definitely piqued my interest. I have built number of other missile launchers recently, including a Soviet MAZ-547 transporter erector launcher for an SS-20 ballistic missile and a Cold-War cruise missile launcher. This fits that theme perfectly.
Furthermore, I also happen to write professionally about missiles from North Korea and I write computer models to predict their trajectories. So, the research that went into building this model is directly linked to what I do for a living. Over the years I have found that quite a few people in similar lines of work are actually LEGO builders.
piqued
What a fascinating post (and a great build)! I don’t expect to learn about North Korean armaments and military strategy when I pop over to the brothers brick to check out neat MOCs and LEGO news, but this was thoroughly intriguing!
@BrickJohann I appreciate your comment and am glad you like it. This was a fun post for me too, because I got to combine two of things that really interest me.
Hey Ralph you mentioned you write about these kinds of things and I would love to read your work (if possible as I realize this might not be publicly available). This build has me absolutely taken and my curiosity piqued. Where would be a good place to start with the literature that covers this kind of tech, it seems silly but I never would have thought you could launch a ballistic missile from a train. What a world. Thanks for your post and the amazing build .
@landofmagenta No problem. Some of it is publicly available.
I’ve written for 38 North, which is a great site about the DPRK in general.
https://www.38north.org/tag/ralph-savelsberg/
I’m a member of the board of contributors for Breaking Defense, where I also publish about missile from Iran.
https://breakingdefense.com/author/ralphsavelsberg/
Using trains for launching ballistic missiles isn’t a new concept. Until 2005 the Soviet Union / Russia had special trains for launching SS-24 “Scalpel” intercontinental ballistic missiles. And until 1991 the US also had a project for launching ballistic missiles from a train, called the Peacekeeper Rail Garrison. Actual hardware was built and tested but it was cancelled before any actual launches took place due to the dissolution of the Soviet Union.