Text Fwd: F-15s From Okinawa to Move to Guam

* Image source: Marianas Variety
Photo shows an Air Force F-15 flying a patrol mission. Japanese media has reported that some training functions of F-15 fighters stationed at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa will be moved to Guam. (U.S. Air Force photo)

Stars and Stripes
US to Move Some Fighter Jet Training from Okinawa to Guam
Chiyomi Sumida
January 20, 2011

NAHA, Okinawa — The United States and Japan agreed Thursday to move some military drills involving Okinawa-based F-15 fighters to Guam, according to the Ministry of Defense.

Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa notified Okinawa Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima of the decision during his visit to the island Thursday.

Kitazawa also told Nakaima that both governments reached an agreement to close the 149-acre Marine Corps Gimbaru Training Area, located near Camp Hansen. Closure of the Marine training facility was first agreed to in 1996 by the Special Action Committee on Okinawa on the condition that the helicopter landing zone would be relocated to the nearby Kin Blue Beach Training Area and other Gimbaru facilities moved to Camp Hansen.

The F-15 training is expected to be moved to Guam sometime after April, Kitazawa said. Japan will cover the cost of relocating the F-15 drills.

Moving the training is part of Japan’s efforts to “reduce the burden of Okinawa” of hosting U.S. bases, Kitazawa told Nakaima during their 20-minute meeting at the governor’s office in Naha.

Noise pollution caused by the heavy U.S. military presence has long been a complaint of Okinawa residents.

In March 2000, about 5,600 residents in communities surrounding Kadena filed a lawsuit, demanding compensation and suspension of aircraft operations at the air base during early and late hours. In February 2009, the Japanese High Court awarded the residents 5.62 billion yen (about $68 million), but dismissed their demand to halt flight operations.

Nakaima was wary about how much noise levels would be reduced by moving the training.

“I need to examine the details before I fully understand what the move means or what effect it will bring,” he told reporters following the meeting.

“In the past, while some training was moved elsewhere, other aircraft would fly in to occupy the space,” he said.

The governor also renewed his call for Tokyo to review the Japan-U.S. agreement struck in May to relocate Marine Corps Air Station Futenma to a new facility on Camp Schwab in Henoko.

“We hope you will help us achieve the relocation of the base outside of the prefecture,” he told Kitazawa.
sumidac@pstripes.osd.mil
___________________________________
See also

Marianas Variety
F-15s to Train in Guam
Therese Hart
Wednesday, 05 January 2011

Kyodo
Japan in Talks with US Over Moving F-15 Fighter Drills to Guam Jan 4
11:49 PM US/Eastern
Jan 4 11:49 PM US/Eastern
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Jiji Press :
Kitazawa Wants U.S. Helicopter Drills on Japan Mainland
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Jiji Press Japan,
U.S. Agree to Partially Move F-15 Fighter Training in Okinawa to Guam
Tokyo, Jan. 4
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Text Fwd: Boeging Eyes India & Asia for Big Weapons Profits

* Text sent from Bruce Gagnon on June 8, 2010

Singapore Airfreight Directory
07 June 10
The Business Times
Boeing eyes Asia for its defence sales

(SINGAPORE) Faced with slumping demand and budget cuts in the United States, American aerospace giant Boeing's defence arm is looking to Asia to pick up the slack.

Dennis Muilenburg, president and chief executive of Boeing Defense, Space and Security (BDS), estimates that countries such as South Korea, Japan, India, Australia and South-east Asian partners such as Malaysia will be strong markets for its fighter jets, unmanned systems, helicopters, energy systems security and even cyber-warfare technology amid a slowdown in defence spending in its US home market.

'We are seeing some pressure in our core business in the US, such as missile defence, but growth will come from other markets, particularly in Asia,' he said.

About 16 per cent of BDS's US$34 billion business comes from international sales. Mr Muilenburg, who was in Singapore last week for the Asia Security Summit, sees international business share rising to 25 per cent in five years.

Asian markets account for about half the international sales. And this could grow sharply in the next three years.

The company is awaiting a Japanese tender for some 40 next-generation fighters to replace its ageing F4 Phantoms.

In Korea, where it has delivered 61 F15-K Eagle fighters, it is looking at an opportunity to clinch another deal for 60 more of the planes.

In Australia, where it has delivered the first five of 25 F18 Superhornets and five C17 transport planes, it sees interest for the P8 anti-submarine planes.

In Malaysia, it is currently in talks to sell its F18 Hornets to replace the air force's ageing Russian MiG fighters, while in Singapore, it is in the process of supplying the 24 F15 Eagles on order.

But it is India which Mr Muilenburg sees as the 'Jewel in the Crown'.

The signing of the nuclear agreement by former president US George W Bush two years ago, and the subsequent thawing of relations between the US and India, have finally opened up the country's US$30 billion defence market to Boeing.

'In the past, Boeing's relationship with India was purely on the commercial airplanes side,' he said. 'Now, relations encompass the defence side.'

India has already inked a deal to buy eight P8i anti-submarine aircraft and has expressed an interest in purchasing 10 C17 military transport aircraft. If that US$4 billion C17 deal comes through, it will be Boeing's single biggest for this aircraft type.

But the biggest competition now going on is India's request for the supply of 126 multi-role combat fighter planes. Besides Boeing, others in the battle for this US$10 billion deal include Eurofighter Typhoon, Sweden's Griffin, France's Rafale and Lockheed Martin of the US.

Besides fighters, the Indian army is also looking to buy Apache attack helicopters and the Chinook heavy-lift helicopters.

Text Fwd: Japan: Okinawa Decision Has Interceptor Missile Element Aimed At China

* Text informed by Rick Rozoff

Aviation Week
May 25, 2010
Okinawa Decision Has Missile Defense Element
By David A. Fulghum


-The initial Okinawa-based F-15 unit worked out tactics for cruise missile defense while stationed in Alaska. Two years ago the unit made the shift to Japan’s southernmost airbase, which has responsibility for an area of operations that extends to within about 20 miles of China.
The newest twist is that the U.S. Air National Guard and Raytheon are talking about demonstration of an air-launched, hit-to-kill missile called the network-centric airborne defense element (NCADE) for a ballistic missile defense mission. It uses an Aim-120 Amraam missile body and extends the range far enough to support an anti-ballistic missile mission.


By backpedaling on a campaign promise to move a U.S. Marine Corps airbase from Okinawa, Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama may have nonetheless secured additional airborne cruise missile and tactical ballistic missile defenses for Japan.

China is seen as the cruise missile threat since it has developed a new, faster, long-range weapon that can be launched from its Su-27MKK strike fighter fleet....

Okinawa is already home to the first wing of U.S. Air Force Boeing F-15Cs carrying an older model of active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar. The Raytheon-designed radar essentially increases the aircraft’s radar range from about 50 miles to around 150 miles (horizontal or vertical) and it allows the fighters to detect small and stealthy targets in time to intercept cruise missiles with specially designed AIM-120C-6 and AIM-120D Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (Amraam) weapons.

U.S. defense officials tell AVIATION WEEK that more AESA-equipped fighters will be stationed in Okinawa to further beef up the anti-missile forces already there. The initial Okinawa-based F-15 unit worked out tactics for cruise missile defense while stationed in Alaska. Two years ago the unit made the shift to Japan’s southernmost airbase, which has responsibility for an area of operations that extends to within about 20 miles of China.

The newest twist is that the U.S. Air National Guard and Raytheon are talking about demonstration of an air-launched, hit-to-kill missile called the network-centric airborne defense element (NCADE) for a ballistic missile defense mission. It uses an Aim-120 Amraam missile body and extends the range far enough to support an anti-ballistic missile mission.

The Guard revealed in late April that it had started upgrades of its Golden Eagle F-15C fleet starting with the Florida ANG’s 125th Fighter Wing, followed by units in Massachusetts and Montana.

“We’re embracing an air-launched concept for theater ballistic missile defense as a deterrent and as a tactical capability to protect our forces in-theater and for homeland defense,” says Maj. Todd Giggy, the 125th’s chief of weapons and tactics.

USAF F-22s also carry AESA radars, as will both the Air Force’s active fleet of 220 F-15Es, with the APG-82(V)4 radar, and Air National Guard F-15s, with the APG-63(V)3 radar.

Leading officials have not mentioned specifics in public, but in explaining his reversal on keeping U.S. forces on Okinawa the Japanese prime minister said he now had a better appreciation of their role as a deterrent in the region.

Still, there was a public outcry from some Okinawa residents after the announcement that Japan would stick with the 2006 agreement it had reached with the U.S. over basing. That deal called for Marine Corps Air Station Futenma to be moved to the less-populated north side of Okinawa rather than off the island.

In a visit there, Prime Minister Hatoyama offered his apology “for causing much confusion” by first supporting opposition to the Okinawa rebasing and then accepting it after public furor was expressed. It was his second visit this month.
===========================
Stop NATO
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stopnato

Blog site:
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/

Text Fwd: SCREAMING EAGLES COMING HOME TO ROOST

Image source: Same as below

Bruce Gagnon blog
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
SCREAMING EAGLES COMING HOME TO ROOST

While I was recently in South Korea I had the sad opportunity to have several of these F-15 "Eagles" screaming over my head when I was touring the end of the runway at the US Air Force Base at Kunsan with local activists. I reported in my blog at the time that in addition to the ear shattering noise, I felt my entire insides reverberate and I know that constant exposure to those sounds cannot be healthy for humans or any other living creature.

The South Koreans, and the Japanese in Okinawa who are now suing to close a similar US base there, have to live with this every single day of their lives. Same goes for the people in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and other places around the world where the US empire is operating.

Now they want to fly these damn things here in Maine at 500 feet.

The Massachusetts Air National Guard is now proposing to fly these F-15's at 500 mph over 2.5 million acres in Western Maine in a proposal called the Condor Military Operations Area. They say it is just woods out there but 80,000 people live in that part of Maine and they, along with the abundant animal life in that part of the state, would be heavily impacted.

A group called Western Maine Matters was formed to fight this proposal and they have a petition on-line and are urging people to sign it. You can find it here.

To me this is a perfect illustration of the steady militarism that is taking over our nation. As our government moves away from real job creation, and into security export as our primary role under corporate globalization, the Pentagon will need more and more lands across the US to test their high-tech weapons systems. As people around the world attempt to throw the US military out of their country, and they damn well should, these weapons systems will have to be tested back here at home.

As a now famous preacher (and former friend of a certain president) once said, "The chickens are coming home to roost." Now we are going to clearly see what the rest of the world has been living with since the end of WW II - the reality of the US military empire!

We must fight against these weapons systems being tested in our communities, whether they are drones or F-15's or anything else, but we should also be equally as concerned about the people who daily suffer from these same weapons systems in South Korea, Japan, or Afghanistan.

We can't just push them out of our community and then forget about them when they go someplace else out of ear-shot.

We have to become people who demand the ugly manifestations of US militarism to be shut down everywhere.

10-4, over and out!

JUST IN: The noise is so bad at Kunsan AFB in South Korea that local rabbits have a sterility rate of 35%. See more here.


* Related blogs

http://nobasestorieskorea.blogspot.com/2009/10/photos-fwd-kunsan-stop-budget-for-war.html
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Photos Fwd: Kunsan: “Stop the Budget for the Combat Air Show!”

http://nobasestorieskorea.blogspot.com/2009/10/text-fwd-fr-moon-resistance-at-kunsan.html
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
[Bruce Gagnon 블로그 번역] FR. MOON & RESISTANCE AT KUNSAN AFB

http://nobasestorieskorea.blogspot.com/2009/09/kunsan-peace-march-sept-12-2009.html
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Kunsan Peace March, Sept. 12, 2009

[국문 번역] Text Fwd: FR. MOON & RESISTANCE AT KUNSAN AFB

Planes inside hangers at Kunsan AFB
군산 공군 기지 격납고의 비행기들

Screaming planes overhead
소음을 지르며 머리 위를 날아가는 비행기들

Drying fish at the end of the Kunsan AFB runway
군산 활주로 끝 생선 말리는 곳, [새만금]

* 국문 번역은 영문 밑에 있음.

Bruce Gagnon blog
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
FR. MOON & RESISTANCE AT KUNSAN AFB

Father Moon is a 73 year-old retired Catholic priest who move to Gunsan 10 years ago in order to build resistance around the expansion of the US Air Force Base in the city. The base, called Kunsan AFB, served as a Japanese airfield during the time of their colonization of Korea. Gunsan is located along the southwest coast of South Korea, as close to China as one can get.

Today the base hosts 58 F-16's and will soon see two Apache helicopter units move here from another base farther north. F-15's from Idaho and also here on temporary duty and 16 Patriot missile batteries are located on the base as part of the US Missile Defense expansion in this region.

Fr. Moon has a long gray flowing beard and walks with a cane. He has a bad knee after being roughed up by the national police at one of the many protests he has attended over the years. He has spent a couple of years in prison, like so many of the most dedicated South Korean activists have, but he sheds no tears over his time in jail. He remarks with a laugh that he liked being in jail because he could read so many books. I gave him one of mine and signed it with the words, "For your jail reading library."

These days Fr. Moon is spending alot of time away from his work against expansion of Kunsan AFB because he feels the need to stand with the suffering widows in the Yongsan neighborhood of Seoul. He is largely responsible for bringing many Catholic priests and nuns into that struggle and for helping to encourage many other progressive organizations to get involved.

I asked Fr. Moon to give me some words for other activists and this is what he said:

It is one Earth - we must have peace amongst all the villages of the Earth - we must show solidarity with all who are suffering, open our hearts to people like those at Yongsan. We must show concern, participation, and solidarity.

The US Air Force is now building three new eight story barracks on the Kunsan base. Six villages of 547 households will be lost to the base expansion by 2013. It is obvious that big plans are being made here. I asked Fr. Moon who the enemy is for such a massive base expansion. He answered: China.

Along the outer fence line of the base I could see one housing area for the American base families who are essentially moving onto the land that was once lived on by fishermen and rice farmers. Visible as we drove around the base was the "Haven Baptist Church". My first thought when I saw the church is the growing fundamentilization of those in the military today. They are being told they are on a mission from God to bring true religion to the world. Knowing that God is on their side makes it easier to kill anyone who gets in the way.

We went to a red-colored marshland yesterday at one end of the 4 kilometer base runway which is located next to the sea. Here fishermen and their wives were drying small fish on netting raised off the ground on saw-horses. Just above our heads roared 4 F-16's and one F-15 as they took off from the base. We had to cover our ears and I could feel the vibrations of the plane inside my body. Think of living with this everyday of your life.

Once a year one of the planes crash.

Fr. Moon told me that police call him the "gangster". They do that because he refuses to give in to the corruption of policy and spirit inside his nation. The people of South Korea are being told to submit to US military authority and to the corporate driven consumer culture that now rules South Korea. But he is unrelenting in his resistance and for that he is seen by the "authorities" as an outlaw. It was an honor to meet this outlaw and to call him a friend. He is a role model for all self-respecting people.

posted by Bruce Gagnon


* Related blogs

http://nobasestorieskorea.blogspot.com/2009/11/text-fwd-screaming-eagles-coming-home.html
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
[Bruce Gagnon blog] SCREAMING EAGLES COMING HOME TO ROOST

http://nobasestorieskorea.blogspot.com/2009/10/photos-fwd-kunsan-stop-budget-for-war.html
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Photos Fwd: Kunsan: “Stop the Budget for the War Air Show!”

http://nobasestorieskorea.blogspot.com/2009/09/kunsan-peace-march-sept-12-2009.html
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Kunsan Peace March, Sept. 12, 2009



브루스 개그논 블로그
2009년 10월 21일
문신부님과 군산 공군 기지의 저항

문신부님은 73세의 은퇴하신 카톨릭 신부로 10년 전에 시의 미군 기지 확장 일대 주변에 저항을 조직하기 위해 군산으로 옮겼읍니다. 군산 공군 기지로 불리는 그 기지는 일본이 Korea를 식민화했을 때 일본의 비행장으로 쓰였읍니다. 군산은 남한의 남서 해안을 따라 중국에 가능한 한 가까운 곳에 위치해 있는 곳입니다.

오늘날 그 기지는 58개의 F-16기를 지니고 있으며 더 북쪽의 또 다른 기지로부터 두 개의 아파치 헬리콥터 부대가 이동해오는 것을 곧 보게 될 것입니다. 아이다호로부터 F-15기들이 역시 임시로 이 곳에 올 것이고 16개의 패트리어트 포대가 이 지역내 미국 미사일 방어망 확장의 일부분으로 이 곳에 위치합니다.

문신부님은 흩날리는 긴 회색 수염을 갖고 있으며 지팡이에 의지해 걷습니다. 그는 수년간 그가 참석했던 많은 시위의 하나에서 경찰에 의해 거칠게 밀린 후로 무릎이 상했읍니다. 그는 가장 헌신적인 많은 남한의 활동가들처럼 감옥에서 2년간을 보냈으나 그가 감옥에 있었던 시간에 대해 눈물 한방울 흘리지 않습니다. 그는 그가 너무나 많은 책을 읽을 수 있었기에 감옥에서 보냈던 시간을 좋아했다고 웃으며 말합니다. 저는 그에게 “도서를 읽는 당신의 감옥 [기간]을 위해”라는 말과 함께 서명한 제 책을 한 권 주었읍니다.

최근 그는 서울 용산 동네의 고통받는 과부들과 함께 있을 필요를 느껴 많은 시간을 군산 공군 기지 확장을 막는 그의 일로부터 떠나 있읍니다. 그는 많은 카톨릭 신부님들과 수녀님들을 그 투쟁에 끌어들이고 많은 다른 진보적인 단체들이 참여하도록 격려하는 것을 도우는 데 크게 기여했읍니다.

저는 문신부님께 다른 활동가들을 위해 한마디 하시라 했고 이 것이 그가 한 말입니다:

하나의 지구입니다-우리는 지구의 모든 마을들간 평화를 가져야 합니다-고통받는 모든 이들과 연대하고 용산의 분들과 같은 사람들에게 우리의 마음을 열어야 합니다. 우리는 관심, 참여 그리고 연대를 보여야 합니다.

미 공군은 현재 세 개의 8층 짜리 새로운 병영건물들을 짓고 있읍니다. 547가구의 6개 마을이 기지 확장으로 2013년까지 없어질 것입니다. 큰 계획이 이 곳에서 만들어지고 있는 것이 분명합니다. 저는 문 목사님께 그렇게 거대한 기지 확장을 하도록 하게 하는 적이 누구냐고 물었읍니다, 그는 대답했읍니다. 중국이라고.

기지 외곽 철조망선을 따라 저는 근본적으로 어부들과 쌀농사 농부들이 한때 살았던 땅으로 옮기는 미군 기지 가족들이 사는 한 주택 지역을 볼 수 있었읍니다. 우리가 기지 주변을 운전할 때 “ Heaven Baptist Church 천국 세례 교회”가 눈에 띄었읍니다 . 제가 그 교회를 보았을 때 처음 든 생각은 오늘날 군대에서 자라고 있는 근본주의 입니다, 그들은 신으로부터 세계에 진정한 종교를 가져오는 임무를 행하고 있다고 들어집니다. 신이 그들의 편에 있다고 아는 것은 그들의 길을 막는 어떠한 이도 쉽게 죽이게 할 것입니다.

우리는 어제 4 킬로미터되는 기지의 활주로 끝에 있고 바다 바로 옆에 있는 붉은 갯벌로 갔읍니다. 여기서 어부들과 그들의 아내들은 지상으로부터 톱질된 나무들로 받쳐진 그물망위에서 작은 생선들을 말리고 있었읍니다. 우리 머리 바로 위에서는 4개의 F-16기들과 한대의 F-15가 그들이 기지를 이륙할 때마다 굉음을 질렀읍니다. 우리는 우리의 귀를 막아야 했고 저는 제 몸안에서 비행기 진동을 느낄 수 있었읍니다. 여러분의 삶을 매일 이렇게 사는 것을 생각해 보세요.

매년 그 중 한 대의 비행기가 추락합니다.

문신부님은 경찰이 그를 “깡패”라 부른다고 저에게 말했읍니다. [경찰은] 그가 그의 나라 안의 정책과 영혼의 타락에 굴복하는 것을 거절하기 때문에 그를 그렇게 부릅니다. 남한의 사람들은 현재 남한을 지배하는 미군 당국과 기업이 주도하는 소비주의에 굴복하라고 듣습니다. 그러나 그는 그의 저항을 굽히지 않으며 그것 때문에 “당국”으로부터 무법자로 보입니다. 이 무법자를 만나고 그를 친구라 부른 것은 영광이었읍니다. 그는 자존심이 강한 모든 이들의 한 역활 모델입니다.


* 관련 블로그들

http://nobasestorieskorea.blogspot.com/2009/11/text-fwd-screaming-eagles-coming-home.html
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
[Bruce Gagnon blog] SCREAMING EAGLES COMING HOME TO ROOST
[브루스 개그논 블로그] 소음지르는 독수리 비행기들 (EAGLES), [미국] 국내에 보금자리를 치러 오다.
2009년 11월 3일

http://nobasestorieskorea.blogspot.com/2009/10/photos-fwd-kunsan-stop-budget-for-war.html
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Photos Fwd: Kunsan: “Stop the Budget for the Combat Air Show!”
사진 전송: 군산: “전투 쇼를 위한 예산 지원 반대!”
2009년 10월 29일

http://nobasestorieskorea.blogspot.com/2009/09/kunsan-peace-march-sept-12-2009.html
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Kunsan Peace March, Sept. 12, 2009
2009년 9월 12일 군산 평화 대행진
209년 9월 13일

Text Fwd: Seoul may form attack chopper unit

2009.08.03
By Kim Ji-hyun (jemmie@heraldm.com)

South Korea may be moving forward with plans to form a separate unit of attack helicopters over the next four years for defense reinforcement purposes, military sources said yesterday.

The absence of two U.S. Apache attack helicopter battalions are seen to have accelerated the move.

Further exacerbating the concerns are predictions that the sole remaining battalion of 24 choppers may depart following the 2012 transfer of wartime operational control.

The Defense Ministry, however, said upgrading the current choppers would come first.

"Our priority lies in upgrading our choppers as they are outdated. We may not actually be seeing the formation of a new division of such choppers," said Col. Lee Bung-woo of the ministry's public relations office.

The Defense Acquisition Program Administration is in the midst of a feasibility study for indigenously developing helicopters. It is slated to announce the results by late next year.

Another viable plan is to purchase second-hand Apaches from the United States.

Amid concerns of the defense vacuum, the United States Forces Korea is to deploy a dozen F-15E fighter jets here to replace an equal number of F-16s.

"This would most likely be a move to assure South Korea," one military source said.

Washington will station the dozen F-15E Striking Eagle jets at the Gunsan Air Base by Aug. 20 to replace the 12 F-16 Fighting Falcon jets at the Suwon Air Base, sources said.

The deployment is part of a rotation and will last for six months, including a staff of 400 to support the move.

Washington's decision to pull out a second battalion of attack choppers earlier this year had many worried about the weakened defense posture.

Top defense experts are now predicting that the United States may decide to withdraw the remaining 24 Apaches to reinforce its anti-terrorism efforts in the Middle East.

The Apache choppers constitute a powerful combat deterrent as they are designed for anti-armor purposes, meaning their main mission is deterring North Korea's armored division.

The United States afterwards deployed a dozen F-16s, a multirole fighter jet, in the place of the Apaches amid criticism and concerns.

This is because the F-16s, despite thier capacity for conducting varied missions and precision strikes, are void of anti-armor features.

The F-15Es, meanwhile, are said to have superior all-weather ground attack capabilities compared with the F-16s and a greater operational range.

The jets also carry a wide range of munitions including anti-armor and precision guided bombs.

But experts said the distinction was not too significant, as they both are unable to sufficiently replace the Apaches.

The USFK maintains that the multirole jets would adequately fill the gap left by the Apaches.

* Realted
Yonhap News
2009/08/03 16:19 KST
U.S. says no plan to withdraw Apaches in foreseeable future
By Sam Kim

Text fwd: S. Korea Reconsidering Stealth Fighter Plans

*Image Source/ Description: Same as below
'Boeing’s F-15 Silent Eagle prototype'

Korea Times
S. Korea Reconsidering Stealth Fighter Plans
Boeing’s F-15 Silent Eagle prototype
By Jung Sung-ki, Staff Reporter, 07-27-2009

The South Korean military is having second thoughts about introducing so-called fifth-generation stealth fighters due to technical and budgetary problems.

Last week, the Weapon Systems Concept Development and Application Research Center at Konkuk University in Seoul submitted its interim report on the feasibility of the KF-X indigenous fighter development project to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA).

The agency commissioned a six-month final feasibility study on the KF-X program in April.

The report suggests major changes in required operational capabilities (ROCs) for the KF-X aircraft. In particular, the report says the KF-X jet should be an F-16-class fighter to be developed by foreign aircraft manufacturers.

Initiated in 2001, the KF-X program had originally been aimed at developing and producing by 2020 about 120 fifth-generation fighters stealthier than Dassault's Rafale or the Eurofighter Typhoon, though not as much as Lockheed Martin's F-35 Lightening II.

``The KF-X ROCs have been readjusted to a realistic level after consultations among parties concerned, as developing a full stealth fighter has already been assessed as technically and economically nonviable,'' a procurement official said on condition of anonymity.

The official was referring to an earlier feasibility report in 2007 that concluded that the KF-X project would cost at least $10 billion but could be expected to reap only $3 billion in economic benefits.

``The (Konkuk University) center is discussing ways to develop the KF-X with potential foreign partners, and it will report the outcome of its study to the DAPA and the Ministry of National Defense by the year's end for final approval,'' the official said.

According to the interim report, the KF-X will be an F-16 Block 50 level multi-role fighter jet with an engine thrust of 50,000 pounds. The aircraft would have either one or two engines, but a twin-engine system is preferred, it says.

The indigenous aircraft will be equipped with an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, an electronic warfare suite and infrared search-and-track system, and data link systems fit for a network-centric environment, the report states.

The report says the KF-X program now aims to develop and produce 120 aircraft after 2010 in the first phase to replace older F-4s and F-5s and manufacture 130 more after the first phase models reach initial operational capabilities.

In a related move, a chief researcher at the state-funded Korea Institute for Defense Analyses (KIDA) said the nation could delay the purchase of foreign stealth fighters under the F-X multi-phase fighter procurement program.

The F-X aims to buy 120 high-end fighter jets by 2020 in an effort to modernize the Air Force's fighter fleet. Boeing won the previous two deals in 2002 and 2008 to provide a total of 41 F-15Ks.

Seoul officials had said the third phase program, expected to begin by 2012, would focus on obtaining fifth-generation stealth fighters. The Lockheed Martin-built F-35 was referred to as a front-runner for the deal.

``At the request of the MND, a KIDA team began a comprehensive review of the Air Force's operational requirements and the effectiveness of the Air Force's current operational structure of high-, medium- and low-class aircraft,'' the researcher, who leads the feasibility study said, requesting to remain anonymous.

The researcher noted the procurement of the F-35 would be a key topic.

``South Korea, for sure, should purchase and operate stealth fighters as the radar-evading aircraft are expected to dominate the skies in the coming years. But as far as the timing is concerned, we need to think more and make a wise decision,'' he said.

Adopting early versions of the F-35 could cause operational risks, he said, so that Seoul should delay buying the aircraft by 2020 when its performances will be proved and upgraded.

He suggested introducing more ``4.5-generation'' fighters, such as Boeing's F-15 Silent Eagle, before the procurement of stealth-fighters could be an option to fill the Air Force's possible operational gap.

gallantjung@koreatimes.co.kr

US to sell 'bunker-buster' bombs to SKorea: official

* Image source: Wikipedia

* Text informed by Agneta Noberg on June 3, 2009 *

US to sell 'bunker-buster' bombs to SKorea: official
by Staff Writers
Seoul (AFP) June 2, 2009

The United States has agreed to sell "bunker-buster" bombs to South Korea that are capable of destroying underground facilities in North Korea, a military official said Tuesday.

Washington recently approved the sale of GBU-28 bombs, which were used during the 1990-91 Gulf War to destroy underground command centres in Iraq, a defence ministry official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

The laser-guided bombs, which could be used to hit North Korean missiles and aircraft stored underground, will be delivered to South Korea between 2010 and 2014, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported.

It said that in the event of war South Korean jet fighters would carry the bombs to attack underground targets such as North Korea's nuclear facilities and artillery hidden in caves.

South Korea also plans to purchase other high-tech bombs such as JDAMs, JASSMs and GBU-24s, Yonhap said.

GBU-24s perform better at low altitudes and under poor visibility conditions. JDAMs with global positioning systems would be effective against North Korean artillery while JASSMs are precision cruise missiles, Yonhap said.

"These high-tech bombs are some of the most urgently needed weapons for us to deal with North Korean missile sites and artillery guns," a source told the news agency.

Military officials here say the North's artillery deployed in tunnels along the border poses a serious threat to South Korea.

General Walter Sharp, the top US commander in the South, said in April that the North has the world's largest artillery force.

He said the North is believed to have some 13,000 artillery pieces deployed along the border.

South Korea has generally favoured defence equipment from the United States, which has kept troops here since the 1950-53 Korean War to deter aggression by North Korea.

More than 600,000 South Korean troops, backed by 28,500 US troops, are confronting the potential threat from the North's 1.1 million-strong military.


* Yonhap News Seoul(Korean)
北핵.지하시설 파괴용 GBU-28 수십발 도입
美 판매 승인..'2010~2014 중기계획' 반영
[2009-06-02 10:45 송고]

(서울=연합뉴스) 김귀근 기자 = 유사시 북한의 핵시설과 동굴속 장사정포 등 지하군사시설을 뚫고 들어가 폭파시키는 레이저유도폭탄(GBU-28) 수십 발이 도입된다.

군 소식통은 2일 "미국은 그간 전략무기로 분류해 국외 수출을 엄격히 통제했던 GBU-28 폭탄을 한국에 판매키로 최근 승인했다"면서 "우리 군은 '2010~2014년 국방중기계획'에 이 폭탄 구매계획을 반영했다"고 밝혔다.

미국이 한국에 GBU-28 폭탄을 판매키로 한 것은 북한이 두 차례 핵실험을 하고 장거리 미사일을 발사하는 등 핵과 미사일 위협이 가중되고 있어 이에 대응하는 차원이라고 소식통은 말했다.

그는 "미국이 한국에 전략무기인 무인정찰기 글로벌호크 판매를 승인한 데 이어 GBU-28 폭탄까지 판매키로 한 것은 양국 신뢰관계를 반영하는 것"이라며 "GBU-28 폭탄을 도입한 데 이어 글로벌호크도 구매하는 방안을 적극적으로 고려하고 있다"고 강조했다.

일명 '벙커버스터'로 불리는 GBU-28은 미국이 1991년 걸프전쟁 때 지하 30여m 깊이의 벙커에서 전쟁을 지휘하는 이라크군 사령부를 공격하기 위해 특별히 설계됐다.

스텔스 폭격기나 F-15A 전폭기를 이용, 공중에서 투하한 뒤 레이저로 유도해 목표물에 도달한다. 폭탄에 장착된 2천kg의 탄두는 지상에서 바로 터지지 않고 지하 20~30여m(콘크리트는 6m)까지 뚫고 들어가 폭발하도록 설계되어 있다.

지난 2001년 '테러와의 전쟁'에서는 탈레반과 오사마 빈 라덴의 지하 요새를 공격하기 위해 수도 카불과 탈레반 거점 도시인 칸다하르 등지에 투하된 것으로 알려졌다.

군은 F-15K 전투기에 GBU-28 폭탄을 장착해 유사시 핵시설과 동굴속 장사정포, 지하군사시설 등을 격파한다는 계획이다. GBU-28 폭탄의 제원은 길이 3.8m, 지름 36.8cm, 무게 2천250kg 등이다.

한편 지난 주 평양 산음동 병기연구소에서 대륙간탄도미사일(ICBM)을 싣고 평안북도 철산군 동창리 미사일기지에 도착한 화물열차는 화물칸이 비어 있는 상태로 산음동으로 되돌아온 것으로 알려졌다.

이 때문에 첩보당국은 덮개로 가려진 ICBM이 동창리 기지에서 내려져 조립건물로 옮겨진 것으로 추정하고 있다. 현재 동창리 기지에는 고급 승용차가 빈번하게 출입해 북한군 수뇌부가 방문한 것으로 관측되고 있다.

threek@yna.co.kr

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軍, 북핵 대응 ‘벙커버스터’ 도입
북핵·지하시설 파괴용… 美 수십발 판매 승인
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