[Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club] Bombs Excluded from the KF-21

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] It has become impossible to equip the domestically produced fighter jet KF-21 with the air-to-ground bomb Wind Corrected Munitions Dispenser (WCMD) CBU-105.

A military official stated, “The Air Force initially planned to equip the KF-21 with the CBU-105, but the manufacturer, the American company Textron, notified us of production discontinuation, making it difficult to equip.”

The Wind Corrected Munitions Dispenser is a bomb that contains numerous submunitions inside the bomb body, capable of suppressing a wide area simultaneously. Each cluster bomb contains approximately 40 to 650 submunitions.

Cluster bombs can have various combinations depending on the submunitions (Bomblets) inside and the container (Canister) holding them. Depending on the type of cluster bomb, these submunitions can disperse over an area ranging from the size of one soccer field to more than 30 fields. Considering that a typical cluster bomb weighs about 1,000 pounds (454 kg), a fighter jet can usually carry between 2 and 15 bombs. Therefore, when a single fighter jet carries cluster bombs, it possesses tremendous power capable of suppressing an area of at least two soccer fields to over 450 fields in a single sortie.

With the inability to equip cluster bombs on the KF-21, the Air Force plans to coordinate requirements again with the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Additionally, they have requested the Joint Chiefs of Staff to develop hypersonic missiles to be mounted on the KF-21, with development expected to begin as early as this year. Hypersonic missiles are called ‘game changers’ because they are harder to detect and intercept than conventional ballistic missiles, potentially altering the course of warfare. Only three countries?the U.S., China, and Russia?have successfully launched hypersonic missiles. If a hypersonic missile is developed and launched from above Seoul, it can reach Pyongyang, 250 km away, in 1 minute and 15 seconds.

The military plans to equip the KF-21 with two types of air-to-air missiles, nine types of air-to-ground bombs, and one type of air-to-ground missile. They believe that adding hypersonic and supersonic missiles will enable ‘pinpoint strikes.’