November 10, 2009: China recently revealed that they had developed a copy of the French Durandal anti-airfield weapon. The Chinese had bought some Durandal bombs from France in the 1980s, and used them as a model for the Chinese Type 200A anti-runway bomb.
The 450 pound Durandal bomb was developed by France and Israel in the 1960s (and used with great success during the 1967 "6 Day War.") The Durandal is dropped over an enemy airfield, usually by low flying fighters (to escape radar detection) . The bomb deploys a parachute so that it comes right down at the concrete air strip. Then a rocket fires, driving the bomb through the concrete, where it explodes. This creates a large crater and lots of broken concrete. This makes the air strip unusable for hours (at least) and usually days.
The U.S. Air Force adopted Durandal as BLU-107, about the same time the Chinese bought some. While the U.S. pays royalties to the French manufacturer of Durandal, China does not, ignoring any accusations that their Type 200A bomb owns anything to the very similar Durandal.
