The 12-day flying training will be aimed at enhancing the interoperability and combined operational capability of the two countries’ fighters. For this purpose, the allies will stage various training, including a strike package flight and close air support operations, TASS reported.
The exercise will involve more than 60 South Korean warplanes, including F-35A, F-15K and KF-16 fighters, while the US side will mobilize more than 40 aircraft, including F-16 fighters, A-10 attack aircraft as well as F-35B and FA-18 jets of the Marine Corps.
Since early this year, the US, South Korea and Japan have staged a number of combined air exercises with a focus on deterrence of the DPRK on the Korean Peninsula or near it. On Saturday, defense officials from those countries met in Washington to discuss holding regular anti-tank and anti-submarine drills to counter threats from North Korea.
MP/PR