[Yang Nak-gyu's Defence video] New Weapon of B-1B Bomber Targeting North Korean Command Headquarters

[Asia Economy Military Specialist Yang Nak-gyu] The U.S. Strategic Command has revealed for the first time the B-1B Lancer, a U.S. Air Force strategic bomber known as the "Death Swan," flying with the long-range air-to-ground missile "JASSM (Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile)" mounted externally on the aircraft. The B-1B, considered one of the three major U.S. strategic bombers along with the B-52 and B-2, is tasked with striking North Korea's key nuclear and missile facilities in the event of a contingency on the Korean Peninsula.

In a press release issued that day, the U.S. Strategic Command stated, "On the 20th, at Edwards Air Force Base in California, the B-1B equipped with externally mounted JASSM successfully completed a demonstration flight." This is the first time JASSM has been mounted externally on the B-1B, and the Strategic Command said this demonstration flight will pave the way for hypersonic weapons to be externally mounted.

JASSM is a cruise missile with a range of 370 km, equipped with automatic target location identification and detection functions in its warhead, enabling precision strikes. It is known that around 2017, the U.S. Forces Korea deployed about 10 JASSM missiles to the 8th Fighter Wing of the U.S. Air Force in Gunsan, Jeonbuk Province, from where strikes on Pyongyang are also possible. The missile is 4.27 meters long with a wingspan of 2.4 meters. It weighs 1,000 kg, with the warhead alone weighing 450 kg.

The B-1B bomber can carry 24 MK-84 bombs weighing 2,000 pounds (907.1 kg) each, 84 MK-82 bombs weighing 500 pounds (226.7 kg) each, and 24 GBU-31 guided bombs weighing 2,000 pounds each. Notably, its maximum speed is Mach 1.2, faster than the B-52 (957 km/h) and B-2 (Mach 0.9), allowing it to take off from Guam and operate over the Korean Peninsula within two hours in an emergency. Despite its enormous bomb load, it can also perform low-altitude penetration at 60 meters.