VCM-01 ("VCM" likely stands for ''"Vietnamese Cruise Missile"'') is a family of Vietnamese

subsonic Subsonic may refer to: Motion through a medium * Any speed lower than the speed of sound within a sound-propagating medium * Subsonic aircraft, a flying machine that flies at air speeds lower than the speed of sound * Subsonic ammunition, a type o ...

cruise missiles A cruise missile is a guided missile used against terrestrial or naval targets that remains in the atmosphere and flies the major portion of its flight path at approximately constant speed. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large warhea ...

that is being developed by the Viettel Aerospace Institute (VTX). Little information has been officially and publicly revealed by Viettel or any parts of the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defence; however, according to many pictures and pieces of information shared in the media, VCM-01 is likely developed and derived from the

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

n Kh-35

anti-ship missile An anti-ship missile (AShM) is a guided missile that is designed for use against ships and large boats. Most anti-ship missiles are of the sea skimming variety, and many use a combination of inertial guidance and active radar homing. A good ...

, which is the backbone anti-ship missiles commissioned by the

Vietnam People's Navy The Vietnam People's Navy (VPN; vi, Hải quân nhân dân Việt Nam), or the Naval Service (), also known as the Vietnamese People's Navy or simply Vietnam/Vietnamese Navy (), is the naval branch of the Vietnam People's Army and is respons ...

Development and Operational history

First appearance

In 2019, the first picture of a missile designated as VCM-01 missile was made public. The model was unveiled on a television show showing that the new missile was identical to the Kh-35, and information printed on the model's body showed that Z189 Shipyard was also engaged in the development of the missile. Z189 has been the local manufacturer for the KT-184 launcher for the

Kh-35E missiles, so it is likely that Z189 will also produce the launchers and the outer shell of the VCM-01 missiles. In late 2021, the VCM-01 missile appeared once more time in another television show, indirectly confirmed that the missile will be assembled by the M3 Communication Company (now merged into the Viettel Manufacturing Corporation), which is a unit of the Viettel Group.

Test fires

According to the Vietnamese authorities' documents ordering prohibitions on some specific coastal areas in 2018, VCM-01 is test-fired for at least twice. Once was in Quỳnh Lưu District, Nghệ An Province and another once was in

Tiền Hải District The term ''tiền'' ( Hán tự: 錢) is used to refer to various currency-related concepts used in Vietnamese history. The name is a cognate with the Chinese ''qián'' (錢), a unit of weight called " mace" in English. It can refer to a unit o ...

, Thái Bình Province. No further information was announced or reported by the local authorities as well as Viettel, including the results of those activities and the existence of any other test fires besides those mentioned.

Engine

In 2020, Vietnam and South Korea entered negotiations for the delivery of the South Korean SSE-750K

turbojet engine The turbojet is an airbreathing jet engine which is typically used in aircraft. It consists of a gas turbine with a propelling nozzle. The gas turbine has an air inlet which includes inlet guide vanes, a compressor, a combustion chamber, and ...

s to Vietnam, presumably for the VCM-01 project. This is the engine used in South Korea's SSM-710K Haeseong

, as well as its tactical land-attack variant SSM-750K Sea Dragon. It is unconfirmed if Vietnam chose this type of engine for its VCM-01 project or if Vietnam would make another engine choice, such as the Moto Sich MS400 turbofan engines powering the Ukrainian

Neptune Neptune is the eighth planet from the Sun and the farthest known planet in the Solar System. It is the fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. It is 17 time ...

. However, Vietnam is believed to likely choose the South Korean-made engine for the project, as the manufacturers of the SSE-750K engine are "always ready to transfer the engine technology to Vietnam and allowing Vietnam to locally build and mass-produce the engine", which made the deal very attractive and reasonable for Vietnam.

Confusion with the "KCT-15" project

Many Vietnamese and international sources believe that "KCT-15" was a Vietnamese project to copy or assemble the Kh-35E/UE

as an effort to improve self-reliance on the supply and technological mastery of armaments for the

as well as the entire People's Army of Vietnam. Another media source believes that ''KCT-15'' was the old designation of the VCM-01 development project before it was taken over and redesignated as VCM-01 by VTX. However, "KCT-15" was never a designation for any missile development project undertaken by

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making it ...

or Viettel, and in fact, the prefix "KCT" is used to designate a set of projects in a program to study and master the operation and maintenance of the Kh-35 missiles used by the

. "KCT-15" is known as the fifteenth project in the KCT program to master the operation of the Kh-35 missile, and the confusion may have arisen when the media took a picture of a Kh-35 look-alike model with the "KCT-15" designation, leading people to mistakenly believe that it was a Vietnamese project to locally produce the Kh-35 missiles; however, that model would be only used for training and studying purposes and it has little relationship with the project carried out by Viettel.

References