South Korea Signs Deal for 90 Bunker-Buster Cruise Missiles

Di Vincenzo Santo*

(Da The Diplomat – 14 marzo 2018)

Seoul. South Korea has concluded a contract for 90 Germanbuilt Taurus KEPD 350 long-range precision-guided cruise missiles, the country’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) revealed on March 12. “The contract was signed in late February,” […]

The ROKAF began receiving its first Taurus KEPD 350s, intended for the service’s fleet of F-15K Slam Eagle multirole fighter jets, in October 2016.The cost per missile is estimated at around $1.2 million. […] the Taurus cruise missile can reach a top speed of up to March 0.9 and has estimated operational range of around 500 kilometers (300 miles). It is armed with a 500-kilogram (1,100-pound) high explosive warhead and is primarily deployed as a bunker buster. It can target hardened North Korean command and control facilities as well as missile launch sites. The missile is an integral part of South Korea’s so-called Kill-Chain pre-emptive strike program, an integral part of the government’s Korea Massive Punishment & Retaliation (KMPR) deterrence strategy. […] The ROKAF currently operates 61 F-15Ks, an advanced version of Boeing’s F-15E Strike Eagle, which it began receiving in 2005.

The service is also in the process of upgrading 134 out of 170 KF-16C/D Block 50/52 fighter jets and is also mulling a purchase of 20 additional fifth-generation Lightning II F-35A stealth fighter jets in addition to the 40 already ordered. […]

The missile is an integral part of South Korea’s so-called Kill-Chain pre-emptive strike program, an integral part of the government’s Korea Massive Punishment & Retaliation (KMPR) deterrence strategy

*Generale CA ris

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