Latest news with #MK-82
The Star
08-05-2025
- General
- The Star
Cambodia discovers, safely removes another war-left US aerial bomb MK-82: official
PHNOM PENH: A Cambodia's Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) expert team has found and safely removed another war-left US-made MK-82 aerial bomb in southern Kandal province, a mine clearance chief said late on Wednesday (May 7). Heng Ratana, director general of the Cambodian Mine Action Center (CMAC), said the bomb, weighing about 230 kg, had been discovered in a soil pit in Angk Snuol district. "Buried for about half a century (50 years), it's still new," he wrote on social media, with photographs showing experts defusing the bomb. Ratana said experts safely removed and transported it to the CMAC's disposal center for further action on Wednesday. According to the official, since the start of the year, the EOD expert team had unearthed and safely removed at least eight MK-82 aerial bombs in different provinces, including Kampong Cham, Kandal, Kampong Speu, and Kampong Thom. Cambodia is one of the countries worst affected by landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERWs). An estimated 4 million to 6 million landmines and other munitions had been left over from three decades of war and internal conflicts that ended in 1998. According to the Yale University, from October 1965 to August 1973, the United States had dropped over 2.75 million tons of ordnance in 230,516 sorties on 113,716 sites in Cambodia. A Cambodia's official report showed that from 1979 to 2024, landmine and ERW explosions had claimed 19,834 lives and maimed 45,252 others in the Southeast Asian country. - Xinhua
Korea Herald
29-04-2025
- General
- Korea Herald
Military to inspect Air Force over lax discipline following pilot error-caused accidents
The military will conduct an inspection of the Air Force over its operational discipline and readiness posture this week, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Tuesday, following an accidental bombing of a civilian town and a mistaken release of gun pods from an aircraft. The on-site inspection will begin later in the day, the JCS said in a notice to reporters, without providing further details. A JCS official said the inspection of Air Force fighter wings is set to run through Friday and may be extended when deemed necessary. The move follows a series of accidents caused by Air Force assets in March and April that have raised concerns over lax discipline within the armed service. On March 6, two KF-16 fighter jets mistakenly dropped eight MK-82 bombs outside a training range in Pocheon, some 40 kilometers north of Seoul, during live-fire drills, injuring 52 people, including 38 civilians. Earlier this month, a KA-1 light attack aircraft taking part in nighttime drills over Pyeongchang, about 125 kilometers east of Seoul, accidentally dropped two gun pods and empty fuel tanks. No casualties or property damage have been reported. The Air Force pointed to pilot errors as the reason for both incidents and apologized to the public over causing concerns, vowing to come up with practical measures to prevent similar accidents. (Yonhap)
Korea Herald
14-04-2025
- Korea Herald
Two Air Force unit commanders additionally booked over accidental jet bombing
Two Air Force unit commanders have been booked in relation to an unprecedented mistaken bombing on a civilian town last month, officials said Monday, as the ministry released the interim probe results of the fighter jet accident. On March 6, two KF-16 fighter jets dropped eight MK-82 bombs outside a training range in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, during live-fire drills, injuring 52 people, including 38 civilians, according to an estimate by city authorities. The two pilots, who are alleged to have erroneously entered the target coordinates prior to the live-fire drills, have been booked over charges related to the incident. The pilots have also been suspended from air duty for one year. "The ministry plans to refer the two pilots and the unit commanders who have been booked to the military prosecution after the probe concludes and seek disciplinary action against nine officials who were found to have belatedly reported the case and taken insufficient measures," the ministry's criminal investigation command said in a release. The nine officials include seven from the Air Force and two from the Joint Chiefs of Staff, it added. The ministry also plans to issue a warning against the Air Force's operations commander, holding him accountable for command responsibility and insufficient reporting. (Yonhap)
Korea Herald
21-03-2025
- Korea Herald
2 Air Force pilots suspended from air duty for 1 yr after accidental bombing of civilian area
The Air Force on Friday suspended two pilots from air duty for one year after they mistakenly dropped multiple bombs on a civilian village earlier this month, injuring dozens of residents. On March 6, two KF-16 fighter jets dropped eight MK-82 bombs outside a training range in Pocheon, some 40 kilometers north of Seoul, during live-fire drills, injuring 52 people, including 38 civilians. The Air Force has booked the two pilots on charges of negligence resulting in injury, and conducted a qualification review of the two pilots. Under the disciplinary review process, a person responsible for misconduct can face penalties ranging from suspension to dismissal. The suspension was decided as the investigation into the incident is still under way and there will be another qualification review once the defense ministry completes its probe, an Air Force official said. In the interim probe released earlier this month, the Air Force determined that the pilot's mistake in entering wrong target coordinates was the direct cause of the accidental bombing. The Air Force has dismissed two unit commanders over their failure to give specific instructions to their subordinates. (Yonhap)
Russia Today
15-03-2025
- Russia Today
South Korea blames pilots for bombing village
South Korean military investigators have charged two Air Force pilots with criminal negligence following the bombing of a village near the border with the North which resulted in at least 29 civilian injuries and significant property damage. The incident occurred on March 6, when two KF-16 fighter jets mistakenly released eight MK-82 bombs over the settlement of Nogok-ri, Pocheon, near the North Korean border, during a live-fire exercise. 'The Criminal Investigation Command has confirmed in the probe to date that the pilots' erroneous entry of target coordinates was the direct cause of the accident,' the defense ministry said on Thursday, according to Yonhap News Agency. The charged pilots have been relieved from flight duties, and their flight certifications are under review. The bombing injured at least 29 people, including 15 civilians, with two individuals sustaining serious injuries. The explosions, which occurred outside the designated firing range, caused extensive damage to civilian structures, including five houses, a church, a warehouse, and a greenhouse. Footage of a bomb falling on the village of Nogok in South data, 15 people, including two soldiers, were injured as a result of a mistaken bomb drop by a fighter jet of the national air force. Before this, a bomb was dropped by mistake back in 2004. In response to the incident, the South Korean Air Force has suspended all live-fire exercises and grounded training flights pending a thorough investigation. The Air Force Chief of Staff has apologized and pledged to review mission procedures to prevent similar occurrences in the future. 💥 🔗↙️ MILITARY FAILURE South Korea's & U.S military drills accidentally dropped 8️⃣ #MK82 bombs on a residential in #Pocheon a live-fire exercise, 15 injured & causing significant damage .. United States Forces Korea (USFK) said that no US Air Force aircraft were involved in the botched live-fire exercise. However, the mishap has raised concerns among local residents about the safety of such drills near civilian areas. Pocheon and neighboring regions host training grounds used by the militaries of both South Korea and the US. North Korea has criticized the joint drills, stating that such accidents highlight the risk of these exercises escalating into armed conflict, particularly if ordnance were to inadvertently cross into North Korean territory. 'There is no need to explain how the situation would have developed if a bomb had been dropped towards the north a little further to cross the border of the DPRK,' North Korea's state news agency KCNA said in a commentary on Wednesday. 'It is not unreasonable to imagine that an accidental spark might plunge the Korean Peninsula, the region, and the rest of the world into a new armed conflict.' The incident occurred ahead of the annual Freedom Shield exercises, a major joint military drill between South Korea and the United States, which commenced on March 10 and will finish on March 20. While live-fire drills have been suspended, the command post exercises have proceeded as planned. On Wednesday, they simulated an assault on a North Korean facility suspected of storing an unidentified weapon of mass destruction (WMD).
