Turkey produces bunker-buster bomb

By Orhan Canbulatel

KIRIKKALE, Turkey

Turkey’s first bunker-busting bomb is under production, a senior weapons official said Monday.

The Mechanical and Chemical Industry Corporation, known by its Turkish acronym MKEK, has recently certified the 2,000 pound (907 kilogram) bomb for use with F-16 and F-4 warplanes.

Ihsan Cagatay Oncel, the research and development manager at MKEK’s factory in Kirikkale, central Turkey, said the weapon was capable of penetrating reinforced concrete targets.

“The penetrator bomb has the capability to break reinforced concrete and now its certification for F-4 and F-16 warplanes has been completed,” he told Anadolu Agency.

Based on the Mark 84 bomb, the device can destroy underground ammunition and fuel dumps and structures such as dams, bridges as well as systems such as missile batteries and radar antennae.