North Korea’s Su-25 Jets Reveal Indigenous Taurus-Style Cruise Missile and New Precision Munitions
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North Korea has displayed Su-25 attack aircraft at Kalma Airfield carrying what appear to be a Taurus or Storm Shadow style air-launched cruise missile plus multiple small precision guided glide munitions, in the first public pairing of a long-range air-to-ground missile with a DPRK combat jet. Kim Jong Un has folded this new loadout into a promise of “new strategic military assets” and “new missions” for his air force, signaling a push to give Pyongyang a survivable stand-off strike option that could complicate U.S. and South Korean air defense planning.
On November 28, 2025, during celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of the Korean People’s Army Air Force at Kalma Airfield, new imagery of North Korean Su-25 attack aircraft revealed a radically reconfigured weapons load. The aircraft were shown carrying what appears to be a domestic analogue of the German-Swedish Taurus KEPD 350 air-launched cruise missile, complemented by multiple precision-guided glide munitions and a short-range air-to-air missile, signalling an effort to transform an ageing close-support platform into a stand-off strike asset. The display came as Kim Jong-un promised “new strategic military assets” and “new missions” for his air force, suggesting that air-delivered precision strike is being woven into Pyongyang’s broader deterrence strategy. The configuration has drawn close scrutiny from South Korean media and defence officials, as reported by the Korea JoongAng Daily, which describes this as the first public appearance of a long-range air-to-ground missile integrated on a North Korean combat aircraft.
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North Korea’s newly configured Su-25 carries a Taurus-style cruise missile, SDB-like precision glide bombs and a self-defense missile, turning the once low-level attack jet into a stand-off strike platform (Picture Source: North Korean MoD)
What stands out on the Su-25’s left wing is a coherent and layered weapons suite rather than a simple mix of legacy stores. Imagery shows a single large air-launched cruise missile mounted on an inboard pylon, with a boxy cross-section, mid-body wings and an exposed sensor in the nose that together evoke both the Franco-British Storm Shadow and the German Taurus KEPD 350 operated by South Korea. Outboard of this, three pylons each carry a triple launcher loaded with compact precision-guided glide munitions or Hellfire-class missiles, for a total of nine small weapons on that wing alone, in a configuration reminiscent of the US GBU-39/53 Small Diameter Bomb family or the British Brimstone multi-purpose missile. At the wingtip, a single short-range infrared air-to-air missile is visible, likely related to the IRIS-T-style weapon North Korea has previously shown on its MiG-29s and which South Korean intelligence believes draws on technology compromised in cyberattacks against European industry. If this loadout is mirrored on the opposite wing, each Su-25 could in theory combine two long-range cruise missiles, up to eighteen small guided munitions and two self-defence missiles, a density of firepower far beyond the type’s original Soviet design.
The choice of platform underlines how Pyongyang is trying to extend the life of its limited “modern” combat aircraft. North Korea’s Su-25s, acquired from the Soviet Union in the 1980s, have historically been tasked with classic close air support missions using unguided rockets, dumb bombs and gun runs at low altitude, a role that would now be extremely hazardous against South Korean and US air defences. Over the past decade, however, the DPRK defence industry has systematically worked on domestic versions of foreign precision weapons, unveiling cruise missiles that echo Storm Shadow or Russia’s Kh-59, Brimstone-style anti-tank missiles and now air-to-air weapons that closely resemble IRIS-T. The demonstration on Su-25s numbered “99” and “57” suggests that these missile families have reached a level of maturity where integration with legacy aircraft is politically and technically acceptable, and that Pyongyang has invested in the necessary digital weapon interfaces, navigation systems and mission computers to cue guided munitions from cockpits designed in the late Cold War.
In tactical terms, the revised loadout transforms the Su-25 from a low-altitude close-support aircraft into a versatile standoff strike platform. Equipping it with a Taurus-type cruise missile on an inboard pylon would enable launches from beyond the densest layers of South Korean air defenses, allowing strikes on command centers, airbases, or key infrastructure hundreds of kilometers away, assuming performance comparable to its European counterpart. Secondary precision capabilities come from triple-rack glide weapons or Hellfire-class missiles, which can target armored formations, air defense sites, logistics nodes, or coastal assets. This configuration allows a single aircraft to engage multiple objectives during one sortie, especially when supported by external targeting data from drones or ground reconnaissance. Compared with purchasing new fighters, upgrading a proven and durable platform like the Su-25 with compact guided munitions offers Pyongyang a cost-effective means of complicating allied air and missile defense planning. Even with a limited missile inventory, dispersing them across multiple aircraft and bases increases survivability and reduces the likelihood of successful preemptive neutralization.
Strategically, the integration of the Su‑25 into North Korea’s force structure reinforces Kim Jong‑un’s message that the air force will serve as a central pillar of both nuclear and conventional strike capabilities. Until now, concerns about DPRK precision strike options have focused primarily on ballistic and ground‑launched cruise missiles. Equipping combat aircraft with an indigenous Taurus‑style missile and small‑diameter bomb‑class ordnance introduces an air‑delivered vector capable of approaching from unexpected directions, exploiting terrain masking, and executing complex flight paths. For South Korea’s “Kill Chain” pre‑emptive strike concept and for U.S.–ROK–Japan integrated air and missile defense, this development requires consideration not only of missile brigades and mobile launchers but also of legacy strike aircraft now armed with weapons broadly comparable to those fielded by Western air forces. The emergence of these munitions also coincides with reports of deepening military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow, including potential transfers of air defense systems and fourth‑generation fighters, raising questions about technology exchange and how lessons from the war in Ukraine may be shaping developments on the Korean Peninsula.
The cruise missile, the nine-round glide-weapon clusters and the wingtip air-to-air missile hanging from a single Su-25 wing show that North Korea is not merely preserving an ageing fleet but actively re-engineering it into a carrier for layered precision effects. Whether the new weapons match their European counterparts in range, guidance accuracy or warhead design remains unknown, and the true scale of production is equally opaque, but the message is clear: even legacy aircraft can become strategically relevant when paired with credible stand-off munitions. For planners in Seoul, Washington and Tokyo, each new image of a DPRK Su-25 fitted with a Taurus-like missile is another reminder that the air dimension of the peninsula’s security equation is moving into a phase where quantity, diversity and unpredictability of delivery systems matter as much as raw aircraft performance.
Written by Teoman S. Nicanci – Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Teoman S. Nicanci holds degrees in Political Science, Comparative and International Politics, and International Relations and Diplomacy from leading Belgian universities, with research focused on Russian strategic behavior, defense technology, and modern warfare. He is a defense analyst at Army Recognition, specializing in the global defense industry, military armament, and emerging defense technologies.
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North Korea has displayed Su-25 attack aircraft at Kalma Airfield carrying what appear to be a Taurus or Storm Shadow style air-launched cruise missile plus multiple small precision guided glide munitions, in the first public pairing of a long-range air-to-ground missile with a DPRK combat jet. Kim Jong Un has folded this new loadout into a promise of “new strategic military assets” and “new missions” for his air force, signaling a push to give Pyongyang a survivable stand-off strike option that could complicate U.S. and South Korean air defense planning.
On November 28, 2025, during celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of the Korean People’s Army Air Force at Kalma Airfield, new imagery of North Korean Su-25 attack aircraft revealed a radically reconfigured weapons load. The aircraft were shown carrying what appears to be a domestic analogue of the German-Swedish Taurus KEPD 350 air-launched cruise missile, complemented by multiple precision-guided glide munitions and a short-range air-to-air missile, signalling an effort to transform an ageing close-support platform into a stand-off strike asset. The display came as Kim Jong-un promised “new strategic military assets” and “new missions” for his air force, suggesting that air-delivered precision strike is being woven into Pyongyang’s broader deterrence strategy. The configuration has drawn close scrutiny from South Korean media and defence officials, as reported by the Korea JoongAng Daily, which describes this as the first public appearance of a long-range air-to-ground missile integrated on a North Korean combat aircraft.
North Korea’s newly configured Su-25 carries a Taurus-style cruise missile, SDB-like precision glide bombs and a self-defense missile, turning the once low-level attack jet into a stand-off strike platform (Picture Source: North Korean MoD)
What stands out on the Su-25’s left wing is a coherent and layered weapons suite rather than a simple mix of legacy stores. Imagery shows a single large air-launched cruise missile mounted on an inboard pylon, with a boxy cross-section, mid-body wings and an exposed sensor in the nose that together evoke both the Franco-British Storm Shadow and the German Taurus KEPD 350 operated by South Korea. Outboard of this, three pylons each carry a triple launcher loaded with compact precision-guided glide munitions or Hellfire-class missiles, for a total of nine small weapons on that wing alone, in a configuration reminiscent of the US GBU-39/53 Small Diameter Bomb family or the British Brimstone multi-purpose missile. At the wingtip, a single short-range infrared air-to-air missile is visible, likely related to the IRIS-T-style weapon North Korea has previously shown on its MiG-29s and which South Korean intelligence believes draws on technology compromised in cyberattacks against European industry. If this loadout is mirrored on the opposite wing, each Su-25 could in theory combine two long-range cruise missiles, up to eighteen small guided munitions and two self-defence missiles, a density of firepower far beyond the type’s original Soviet design.
The choice of platform underlines how Pyongyang is trying to extend the life of its limited “modern” combat aircraft. North Korea’s Su-25s, acquired from the Soviet Union in the 1980s, have historically been tasked with classic close air support missions using unguided rockets, dumb bombs and gun runs at low altitude, a role that would now be extremely hazardous against South Korean and US air defences. Over the past decade, however, the DPRK defence industry has systematically worked on domestic versions of foreign precision weapons, unveiling cruise missiles that echo Storm Shadow or Russia’s Kh-59, Brimstone-style anti-tank missiles and now air-to-air weapons that closely resemble IRIS-T. The demonstration on Su-25s numbered “99” and “57” suggests that these missile families have reached a level of maturity where integration with legacy aircraft is politically and technically acceptable, and that Pyongyang has invested in the necessary digital weapon interfaces, navigation systems and mission computers to cue guided munitions from cockpits designed in the late Cold War.
In tactical terms, the revised loadout transforms the Su-25 from a low-altitude close-support aircraft into a versatile standoff strike platform. Equipping it with a Taurus-type cruise missile on an inboard pylon would enable launches from beyond the densest layers of South Korean air defenses, allowing strikes on command centers, airbases, or key infrastructure hundreds of kilometers away, assuming performance comparable to its European counterpart. Secondary precision capabilities come from triple-rack glide weapons or Hellfire-class missiles, which can target armored formations, air defense sites, logistics nodes, or coastal assets. This configuration allows a single aircraft to engage multiple objectives during one sortie, especially when supported by external targeting data from drones or ground reconnaissance. Compared with purchasing new fighters, upgrading a proven and durable platform like the Su-25 with compact guided munitions offers Pyongyang a cost-effective means of complicating allied air and missile defense planning. Even with a limited missile inventory, dispersing them across multiple aircraft and bases increases survivability and reduces the likelihood of successful preemptive neutralization.
Strategically, the integration of the Su‑25 into North Korea’s force structure reinforces Kim Jong‑un’s message that the air force will serve as a central pillar of both nuclear and conventional strike capabilities. Until now, concerns about DPRK precision strike options have focused primarily on ballistic and ground‑launched cruise missiles. Equipping combat aircraft with an indigenous Taurus‑style missile and small‑diameter bomb‑class ordnance introduces an air‑delivered vector capable of approaching from unexpected directions, exploiting terrain masking, and executing complex flight paths. For South Korea’s “Kill Chain” pre‑emptive strike concept and for U.S.–ROK–Japan integrated air and missile defense, this development requires consideration not only of missile brigades and mobile launchers but also of legacy strike aircraft now armed with weapons broadly comparable to those fielded by Western air forces. The emergence of these munitions also coincides with reports of deepening military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow, including potential transfers of air defense systems and fourth‑generation fighters, raising questions about technology exchange and how lessons from the war in Ukraine may be shaping developments on the Korean Peninsula.
The cruise missile, the nine-round glide-weapon clusters and the wingtip air-to-air missile hanging from a single Su-25 wing show that North Korea is not merely preserving an ageing fleet but actively re-engineering it into a carrier for layered precision effects. Whether the new weapons match their European counterparts in range, guidance accuracy or warhead design remains unknown, and the true scale of production is equally opaque, but the message is clear: even legacy aircraft can become strategically relevant when paired with credible stand-off munitions. For planners in Seoul, Washington and Tokyo, each new image of a DPRK Su-25 fitted with a Taurus-like missile is another reminder that the air dimension of the peninsula’s security equation is moving into a phase where quantity, diversity and unpredictability of delivery systems matter as much as raw aircraft performance.
Written by Teoman S. Nicanci – Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Teoman S. Nicanci holds degrees in Political Science, Comparative and International Politics, and International Relations and Diplomacy from leading Belgian universities, with research focused on Russian strategic behavior, defense technology, and modern warfare. He is a defense analyst at Army Recognition, specializing in the global defense industry, military armament, and emerging defense technologies.
