Colombian Navy test-fired SSM-700K Haeseong anti-ship missile from FS-1500 Almirante Padilla-class corvette.

During a military exercise, the Colombian Navy has successfully test-fired SSM-700K Haeseong (C-Star) Anti-ship Missile from the FS-1500 Almirante Padilla-class corvette. Four of these ships are in service with the Colombian Navy.

Test-fired of SSM-700K Haeseong (C-Star) anti-ship missile from the FS-1500 Almirante Padilla-class corvette (Picture source:  video footage from the Colombian Navy)

The Almirante Padilla class was built by the German company Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (HDW). Two similar ships operate as Kasturi-class corvettes in the Malaysian Navy. The first frigate, Almirante Padilla (FM-51), was commissioned in October 1983. The second in the series, Caldas (FM-52), entered service in February 1984, followed by the third and fourth vessels Antioquia (FM-53) and Independiente (FM-54), which were commissioned in April 1984 and July 1984 respectively.

In 2012, Colombia ordered 16 SSM-700K Hae Sung I (Sea Star) anti-ship missiles from South Korea to arm the frigates. The SSM-700K Haeseong (C-Star) anti-ship missile is a ship-launched, sea-skimming, surface-to-surface anti-ship cruise missile developed by the South Korean Agency for Defense Development (ADD), LIG Nex1 and the Republic of Korea Navy in 2003.

A long-range cruise missile, the Haeseong was developed for over-the-horizon warfare, capable of attacking targets up to 150 km (93 miles) away. Traveling at ultra-low sea-skimming altitudes, it uses a high-subsonic, high-capacity turbojet, with an Inertial Navigation System (INC) and Global Positioning System (GPS) to guide it toward its target, using a radio altimeter to maintain altitude. An active radar is used for targeting in the terminal phase immediately before impact. It was designed to be deployed in an active electronic warfare environment, fitted with both detection and countermeasures systems. The warhead itself is similar to the Harpoon, fitted with an impact or penetration fuse.