President Donald Trump, in the latest demonstration of increased tensions on the Korean Peninsula,
placed North Korea back on the list of state sponsors of terrorism.
Trump announced the move Monday during a public meeting with his Cabinet at the White House
and said the Treasury Department will announce new sanctions against North Korea on Tuesday.
Trump said that North Korea has "repeatedly" sponsored acts of terrorism, including "assassinations
on foreign soil." Amid escalating tensions , we look at a US
weapon which could play a vital role in a conflict with North Korea.
In this video, Defense Updates analyses WHY A SINGLE AGING B 52 IS ENOUGH TO CRIPPLE NORTH
KOREAN MILITARY ? Lets get started.
The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is an American long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic
bomber. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, which has continued to provide support
and upgrades. It has been operated by the United States Air Force (USAF) since the 1950s.
Superior performance at high subsonic speeds and relatively low operating costs have kept
the B-52 in service despite the advent of more advanced aircrafts, including the variable-geometry
B-1 Lancer, and the stealth B-2 Spirit. After being upgraded between 2013 and 2015,
it is supposed to serve into the 2040s. The B-52s are expected to reach the end of their
service lives by 2045, and be replaced by B-21 Raiders.
B 52 are powered by Pratt & Whitney turbojet engines.
The 8 engines of the B-52 are paired in pods and suspended by four pylons beneath and forward
of the wings' leading edge. It has typical combat range of more than 8,800 miles (14,080
km) without aerial refueling. The massive range enables the B 52 to perform strategic
bombing. The powerful engines also enable B 52 to carry
up to 70,000 pounds (32,000 kg) of weapons. This makes it apt for use against North Korea,
since multiple high value targets can be taken out in a single mission.
North Korean air defense and fighter jets are primitive in nature and lack of resources
mean that most of these are not operationally available.
For example, North Korea has a mix of old Soviet era Surface-to-Air missiles (SAMs),
which includes the S-75, S-125, S-200 and Kvadrat.
All these systems are outdated and represent technology that is 2 to 3 generation old.
The overwhelming majority of Pyongyang's fighter jet arsenal is made up of 1950s and
1960s vintage machines, which even includes Chinese derivatives of very old fighters like
Mig 17 and Mig 19.
The MiG-29 is the Korean People's Army Air Force's (KPAF) most modern fighter and it
operates approximately 40 of these. Even these are not equipped with modern air to air missile.
U.S satellite intelligence will mean that B 52 will be guided to the target through
the safest path , as well it must be noted that these could also be escorted by fighter
jets like F 22 Raptor , F 35 lightning which will clear the path by taking out North Korean assets.
The B 52 is capable of carrying both conventional as well as nuclear weapons.
The ability to carry upto 20 AGM-69 SRAM nuclear missiles was added to G and H models, starting
in 1971. To further improve its offensive ability, air-launched cruise missiles were
fitted. After testing of both the Air Force-backed
Boeing AGM-86 and the Navy-backed General Dynamics AGM-109 Tomahawk, the AGM-86B was
selected for operation for the B-52.
A total of 194 B-52Gs and Hs were modified to carry AGM-86s, carrying 12 missiles on
underwing pylons, with 82 B-52Hs further modified to carry another 8 missiles on a rotary launcher
fitted in the bomb-bay.
The AGM-86 is a subsonic air-launched cruise missile built by Boeing. This missile was
developed to increase the effectiveness and survivability of the Boeing B-52 bomber as
the missile can be fired from standoff ranges. In combination, the missile dilutes an enemy's
forces and complicates air defense of its territory.
All variants of the AGM-86 missile are powered by a Williams F107 turbofan jet engine that
propels it at sustained subsonic speeds and can be launched from aircraft at both high
and low altitudes. The missile deploys its folded wings, tail surfaces and engine inlet
after launch. Sophisticated guidance makes the missile very accurate.
The missile deploys W80 thermonuclear warhead. It has a range of 1,100 to 2,400 km depending
on variant. This enables the B 52 to launch it far off from the target.
As stated earlier a single B 52 can launch upto 20 of these missiles. Hence, an enemy
force could have to counterattack more than one missile at a time, making defense against
them costly and complicated. The enemy's defenses are further hampered by the missiles'
small size and low-altitude flight capability, which makes them difficult to detect on radar.
North Korea has no air defense system which is capable of taking out this missile.
The W80 is a thermonuclear warhead in the U.S. nuke stockpile with a variable yield
of between 5 and 150 kt of TNT. It is specifically designed to be used by AGM-86 as well as the
BGM-109 Tomahawk. It is essentially a modification of the widely deployed B61 weapon, which forms
the basis of most of the current US stockpile.
The W80 is a powerful asset , to give viewers a perspective here is a the comparison.
Trinity Test in New Mexico in July 1945, which ushered in the nuclear age, had a yield of
20 kilo tons. Hiroshima's "Little Boy" bomb had a yield
of 13-18 kilo tons whereas Nagasaki's "Fat Man" bomb had a yield of 20–22 kilo tons
of TNT.
Depending on variant G or H , B 52 will be able to launch 12 or 20 of these W80 warheads
carried by AGM-86 missile . This means a single aircraft has a destructive capacity of
12 * 150 that is 1800 or 20 * 150 that is 3000 kt tons of TNT.
This is enough to obliterate major North Korean military assests and bring it to its knees.
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