Smart bombs to neutralize N. Koreas artillery

The Air Force said Wednesday that it is deploying satellite-guided joint direct attack munitions (JDAMs) on its KF-16 fighter jets, enhancing the capability to neutralize long-range North Korean artillery.

The South Korean Air Force has been working with the U.S. military since 2008 to modify the KF-16's computer systems to carry the all-weather "smart" bombs guided by an internal navigation system.

"The JDAM is considered the most optimal munition to neutralize long-range artillery pieces hidden in mountain caves in North Korea," the Air Force said in a statement.

Carrying a global positioning system in its tail, a JDAM is a kit that converts existing unguided bombs into munitions that can hit ground enemy targets with precision.

Hundreds of the North's long-range artillery and multiple-launch rockets were deployed along the inter-Korean border near Seoul.

Those missiles, capable of shelling the South Korean capital only 50 kilometers from the border, are the biggest defense concern for the South.

The KF-16 fleet is equipped with downsized JDAMs with a weight of 1,000 pounds, Air Force officials said. A normal JDAM weighs 2,000 pounds. (Yonhap)

KF-16에 정밀유도폭탄 JDAM 장착

공군은 KF-16 전투기에 최신 GPS(위성항법장치) 정밀유도폭탄인 JDAM(GBU-31)을 장착 실전에서 운용, 북한의 장거리 포를 무력화시킬 수 있게 됐다고 9일 밝혔다.

공군은 미군과 함께 2008년 이후 내부항법장치에 의해 목포에 도달하는 전천후 스마트탄을 장착하는 KF-16 전투기의 컴퓨터 시스템을 변형시켜왔다.

‘JDAM은 북한 지역의 산악 갱도 안에 숨겨진 장사정포 등을 무력화시킬 수 있는 최적의 무기체계로 평가 받고 있다’고 공군은 설명했다.

GPS(위성항법장치)를 꼬리 부분에 장착한 JDAM은 기존의 재래식 폭탄에 유도장치와 날개 키드를 장착해 스마트 무기로 변형시킨 정밀유도폭탄이다.