A North Korean multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) designed to be disguised as a common truck looks to have appeared in Russia’s Kursk region. The unique vehicle’s arrival there would be part of Pyongyang’s military support for Moscow’s war effort. We reported just yesterday that North Korea is increasing its supply or artillery troops and hardware to Russia, especially for use in the Kursk region. The ‘hiding in plain sight’ MLRS based on a civilian truck platform is a concept that we have seen before in North Korea and a cruder version of which has also been previously used in combat by Iraqi militias.
A brief video showing the civilian-truck-based North Korean MLRS began to circulate today on social media. Ukrainian and Russian military bloggers alike have stated that the MLRS was spotted in Kursk, although we cannot currently verify the location in which the footage was shot.
The MLRS in the footage certainly appears to be identical to a North Korean one that was first noted during a military parade in Pyongyang, as TWZ reported at the time.
During the parade in September 2023 marking the 75th anniversary of North Korea’s founding, the country’s Worker-Peasant Red Guards paramilitary force unveiled a fleet of MLRS disguised as civilian trucks that match perfectly with the vehicle depicted in the video.
The weapon in question is based on a box truck with 12 tubes each of what appear to be 122mm artillery rockets deployed via their pop-up and sliding-door roofs.
The parade also included a dump truck version of the MLRS, alongside agricultural tractors pulling rocket launchers and anti-tank guided missiles on trailers.
As we discussed previously, these kinds of weapons make a lot of sense in terms of North Korean operational tactics, masquerading as civilian vehicles before swinging into action should a conflict kick off on the Korean peninsula. Once the fighting has begun, the MLRS could roam around more freely, appearing as a normal truck, then quickly firing, relocating, and doing so repeatedly, making the enemy’s targeting plans that much more complicated.
On the battlefields of Ukraine, an MLRS that’s disguised as a civilian truck would also have considerable value. This would apply in the Kursk region, where Russian and North Korean forces are engaged in a counteroffensive against Ukrainian forces that launched an assault there last summer, but also across large swaths of eastern Ukraine that are controlled by Russia.
The fact that the MLRS can move around the fringes of where fighting is taking place without necessarily arousing outright suspicion would be a big deal, and this would be aided by the extensive road networks existing in these areas, where, in some cases, there is no shortage of civilian traffic to blend in with.
Ukrainian forces are already using considerable resources to try and identify and then engage Russian units — and especially artillery and air defense systems — as they are brought into battle. Having another level of camouflage and concealment would make that even more complicated.
Among the lessons of the conflict in Ukraine is the vulnerability of equipment on and around the battlefield, especially to drone attacks, putting huge pressure on keeping equipment out of sight as much as possible, or at least confusing the enemy as to what they are seeing and subsequently prioritizing for targeting.
The possibility that any given anonymous-looking truck moving on a road could actually be concealing rocket artillery therefore adds a whole new dynamic.
On the other hand, this kind of artillery is far less mobile outside of existing roads compared to traditional MLRS and it’s unclear if it features any kind of protection, even against small-arms fire and shrapnel. That is less of a concern though as 122mm ‘Grad’ rockets can saturate target areas over ten miles away, allowing them to be employed behind the front lines and towards the extent of many traditional and unassisted first person video drones’ practical range.
It’s possible that North Korea may have sent this kind of MLRS to Russia due to availability or perhaps as some kind of combat trial, especially bearing in mind the fact that this is a relatively new system.
For the time being, we will have to wait for more evidence to confirm that this type of MLRS is really in the Kursk region and, if so, how it might be employed and by whom.
There is, however, a precedent for this type of MLRS being used in combat.
Back in 2023, TWZ reported on how Iranian-backed militants in Iraq fired 122mm artillery rockets at U.S.-led coalition forces in neighboring Syria using an improvised array of launchers disguised inside a modified tanker truck. A video clip, seen in the social media post below, emerged showing this vehicle in action.
Concealed improvised rocket launchers have been seen on multiple occasions in the hands of Iraqi militants, ever since the immediate aftermath of the U.S.-led invasion of the country in 2003. In the process, various types of commercial trucks have been modified in this way over the years.
In the meantime, the concept of concealing weapons in anonymous-looking containers has gained more traction around the world.
Most notably, Israel and Russia, among other countries, have developed missile launchers disguised to look like shipping containers, able to be hidden among normal deck cargo or within industrial areas from which to launch attacks.
Returning to Ukraine, only yesterday we reported on how North Korea was expected to send reinforcements to Kursk imminently. Kyiv’s military intelligence chief told TWZexclusively that these reinforcements will mostly comprise missile and artillery troops who typically operate hundreds of tubed and rocket artillery systems as well as the KN-23 short-range ballistic missiles Pyongyang has already provided Moscow.
The artillery was expected to be used to support both North Korean and Russian operations, although the missiles would be reserved for Russian objectives. Lt. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence Directorate (GUR), also told us that the North Koreans would train Russian soldiers on all of those systems.
Aside from the thousands of troops North Korea has now committed to the conflict, especially in the Kursk region, Pyongyang has already supplied Russia with huge amounts of weaponry, including desperately needed artillery rounds and various kinds of other ammunition, amounting to millions of individual projectiles.
TWZ has also reported on the appearance of North Korean 170mm M1989 Koksan self-propelled artillery pieces being deployed in the Ukraine war and, more recently, a North Korean-made mobile surface-to-air missile system, the designation of which remains unconfirmed.
Again, it’s not clear if these are being used exclusively by North Korean troops or whether they have been supplied to Russia. What is meanwhile clear is that North Korea is stepping up its military support for Russia’s war with Ukraine, including providing an increasingly varied array of heavy weapons.
Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com