ROK Drop

By on June 4th, 2009 at 11:00 am

South Korea Purches GBU-28 “Bunker Buster” Bombs as Tension Heat Up Along Maritime Border with North Korea

With tensions continuing to heat up on the maritime border between North and South Korea a limited North Korean provocation of some sort is becoming more likely and in response the South Korean government has just

gbu-28-bomb

The British Telegraph yesterday said that South Korea is going to buy the laser-guided GBU-28 “bunker buster” bombs from the US. The 5,000 pound (2,268 kg) bomb nicknamed “deep throat” was originally developed by Texas Instruments Defense Systems division now part of Raytheon Company.
The GBU-28 was used during Operation Desert Storm in 1990 to penetrate underground command centers in Iraq.
The bomb could be used to target North Korea’s intricate system of military bunkers and a series of munitions tunnels along the border, the Telegraph said.

An unnamed South Korean military official told the Yonhap news agency that the bombs would be delivered between 2010 and 2014.   [Defence Professionals]

These bombs start being delivered next year, which means that they can’t be used in any provocations happening in the short term, but I do think it sends a signal to North Korea that South Korea means business in regards to its maritime border and is willing to purchase the weaponry necessary to protect it.

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  • gerry
    3:05 pm on June 4th, 2009 1

    What amazes me is that the bombs were developed in the 1990s and South Korea is just now buying them? What were they planning to use to bust bunkers for the last 19 years? Grenades?

  • Lemmy
    8:36 am on June 5th, 2009 2

    For technology protection reasons, there are export restrictions on the GBU-28.

 

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