Brute-Force Tech: North Korea’s Missiles in Ukraine Hint at Legacy Manufacturing That Still Works
A new forensic analysis of North Korea’s KN-23 and KN-24 missiles used in Ukraine indicates they rely on decades‑old manufacturing methods—soldering quality and assembly practices—yet remain deployable. Investigators found the missiles use off‑the‑shelf components from multiple countries due to sanctions, plus simple, low‑cost materials like graphite for heat shielding and larger, less efficient engines to achieve comparable performance. While this brute‑force approach can work, it sacrifices consistency and accuracy, highlighting how supply constraints can preserve legacy production methods even in modern weapons—and offering a lens on how legacy techniques persist in other industries as well.
