U.S. pushing permanent deployment of F-35A stealth fighters to South Korea

Fifty-two F-35A stealth fighters perform an ′′Elephant Walk′′ on the runway at Hill Air Force Base in Utah on Jan. 6, 2020. The Elephant Walk is a nickname for Maximum Sortie Surge, a training exercise in which military aircraft take off in tight rows on the runway. [UNITED STATES AIR FORCE] U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) is pushing for a permanent deployment of its latest stealth fighter, F-35A, to the Korean Peninsula, according to military sources. Although the F-35A has flown to the Korean Peninsula from Japan and other locations in times of increased North Korean threats or for training, this would be the first time the aircraft is officially deployed to Korea as part of USFK. When the deployment is complete, a total of 79 aircraft, including the F-35As owned by the South Korean Air Force, will be able to conduct operations targeting North Korea and China from the Korean Peninsula at any time. South Korea and the United States have continued discussions on bringing 20 F-35As to the Kunsan Air Base in North Jeolla, according to military authorities on Thursday. Related ArticleTop South Korean, U.S. Air Force commanders vow to strengthen readiness against North's threatsU.S. Air Force blames flight instruments failure for F-16 crash in DecemberKorean Air Force to participate in Australia-led military exercise to enhance joint operationsNavy conducts live-fire drills in East Sea with Army, Air Force “The deployment of the American F-35A to Kunsan is expected to have a positive effect on the interoperability with the Korean F-35A,” a military official told JoongAng Ilbo, an affiliate of the Korea JoongAng Daily. “There are many variables regarding this matter, but I think it is quite feasible.” The move takes into consideration a second batch of Korean F-35As to be deployed to Kunsan Air Base. The South Korean Air Force believes that if the second batch of 20 F-35As, which are expected to arrive starting in 2026, are operated at the same base as the American F-35As, there will be synergy effects in terms of maintenance and operations. If this plan between South Korea and the United States is realized, the number of F-35As deployed on the Korean Peninsula will increase to 79. There are currently 39 F-35As deployed on the Korean Peninsula. The South Korean Air Force sequentially introduced 40 aircraft from 2019 to 2021, but one was retired in January 2022 due to a collision with a bird. All of these aircraft are operated at Cheongju Air Base, so the need for distributed deployment has been raised to improve survivability from enemy attacks in the event of an emergency. A fighter squadron is usually composed of 20 aircraft. If South Korea adds 20 aircraft to the 39 aircraft already introduced and 20 aircraft from the Air Force’s second batch, the total number of F-35A squadrons will likely be expanded to 4. The introduction of the F-35As by USFK is interpreted as a result of South Korea’s need to strengthen its air power to deter North Korea and the U.S.’s need to block China’s expansion in the Indo-Pacific region. “North Korea’s diversification of its tactical nuclear launch platforms with various missiles means that there are more targets to strike,” said Park Won-gon, a professor of North Korean studies at Ewha Womans University. “South Korea and the United States must have judged that they need to neutralize North Korea’s attempts with overwhelming air power.” The deployment is also directly connected to the Kill Chain leg of the three-axis system, which calls for pre-emptive strikes in an emergency. F-35A fighter aircraft taxi from a runway at an air base in Korea on May 16. The South Korean Air Force conducted a joint 5th generation fighter training exercise with the United States Air Force over the central region of the Korean Peninsula on the same day. Two F-35A 'Freedom Knight' stealth fighters from the South Korean Air Force and two F-22 'Raptor' fighters from the U.S. Air Force participated in this training. [REPUBLIC OF KOREA AIR FORCE] With a maximum speed of Mach 1.8 and a combat radius of 1,093 km (679 miles), the F-35A has a powerful stealth attack capability and can operate throughout North Korea and strike strategic targets simultaneously. It is considered the weapon that the North Korean leadership fears the most. In particular, the U.S. recently approved the use of the F-35A as a dual-capable aircraft (DCA) capable of carrying and dropping nuclear warheads, such as the B61 series gravity bombs, which is evaluated as further enhancing the nuclear deterrence effect. Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who was nominated as head of the Department of Government Efficiency advisory board for U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s second term, recently criticized the high maintenance costs of the F-35A, saying, “there are still idiots making manned fighters like the F-35,” but the general consensus is that no matter how much drones are the trend of modern warfare, it is impossible to replace manned fighters like the F-35A. Among the military and defense-related circles, there is talk that North Korea’s move to strengthen its air defense network is not unrelated to the USFK’s push for permanent deployment of F-35As. This is because if North Korea’s interception system improves, the success rate of missile penetration could decrease, so air power needs to be increased. North Korea has been putting all its efforts into strengthening its air defense network, which has been at a disadvantage, including the test launch of the antiaircraft (surface-to-air) missile Byeoljji-1-2 in April. There is also speculation that North Korea, which has been developing the lightning series surface-to-air missile modeled after Russia’s S-300 and S-400 missiles, may be able to rapidly improve its technology with Russian support. In this regard, South Korean National Security Adviser Shin Won-sik said on Nov. 22 that “we understand that Russia provided related equipment and antiaircraft missiles to reinforce Pyongyang’s air defense network.” The possession of F-35As by the USFK could also be a steppingstone to check China. That the USFK’s latest fighter jets are operating near the Yellow Sea, which China claims as its inland sea, could in itself be seen as a show of force against China. This means it is directly targeting China’s maritime expansion policy to block the entry of U.S. warships into the South China Sea and East China Sea and seize the initiative. The U.S. Department of Defense announced a modernization plan in July to replace 36 F-16s in USFK with 48 F-35As. In addition, if the F-35As are deployed in large numbers on the Korean Peninsula, the strategy of using them to pressure China, not only by the U.S. Forces in Japan but also by the USFK, could begin in earnest. Another development to watch out for is the retirement next year of the U.S. military's A-10, known as the” tank killer.” It appears that the U.S. is planning to fill the vacant positions of the 24 A-10s at Osan Air Base with F-16s at Kunsan Air Base and deploy F-35As. BY LEE KEUN-PYUNG,LEE YOO-JUNG,LIM JEONG-WON [[email protected]]

U.S. pushing permanent deployment of F-35A stealth fighters to South Korea Published: 01 Dec.

2024, 16:52 LIM JEONG-WON [email protected] Fifty-two F-35A stealth fighters perform an ′′Elephant Walk′′ on the runway at Hill Air Force Base in Utah on Jan. 6, 2020. The Elephant Walk is a nickname for Maximum Sortie Surge, a training exercise in which military aircraft take off in tight rows on the runway.

[UNITED STATES AIR FORCE] U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) is pushing for a permanent deployment of its latest stealth fighter, F-35A, to the Korean Peninsula, according to military sources.

Although the F-35A has flown to the Korean Peninsula from Japan and other locations in times of increased North Korean threats or for training, this would be the first time the aircraft is officially deployed to Korea as part of USFK. When the deployment is complete, a total of 79 aircraft, including the F-35As owned by the South Korean Air Force, will be able to conduct operations targeting North Korea and China from the Korean Peninsula at any time. South Korea and the United States have continued discussions on bringing 20 F-35As to the Kunsan Air Base in North Jeolla, according to military authorities on Thursday.

Related Article Top South Korean, U.S. Air Force commanders vow to strengthen readiness against North's threats U.

S. Air Force blames flight instruments failure for F-16 crash in December Korean Air Force to participate in Australia-led military exercise to enhance joint operations Navy conducts live-fire drills in East Sea with Army, Air Force “The deployment of the American F-35A to Kunsan is expected to have a positive effect on the interoperability with the Korean F-35A,” a military official told JoongAng Ilbo, an affiliate of the Korea JoongAng Daily. “There are many variables regarding this matter, but I think it is quite feasible.

” The move takes into consideration a second batch of Korean F-35As to be deployed to Kunsan Air Base. The South Korean Air Force believes that if the second batch of 20 F-35As, which are expected to arrive starting in 2026, are operated at the same base as the American F-35As, there will be synergy effects in terms of maintenance and operations. If this plan between South Korea and the United States is realized, the number of F-35As deployed on the Korean Peninsula will increase to 79.

There are currently 39 F-35As deployed on the Korean Peninsula. The South Korean Air Force sequentially introduced 40 aircraft from 2019 to 2021, but one was retired in January 2022 due to a collision with a bird. All of these aircraft are operated at Cheongju Air Base, so the need for distributed deployment has been raised to improve survivability from enemy attacks in the event of an emergency.

A fighter squadron is usually composed of 20 aircraft. If South Korea adds 20 aircraft to the 39 aircraft already introduced and 20 aircraft from the Air Force’s second batch, the total number of F-35A squadrons will likely be expanded to 4. The introduction of the F-35As by USFK is interpreted as a result of South Korea’s need to strengthen its air power to deter North Korea and the U.

S.’s need to block China’s expansion in the Indo-Pacific region. “North Korea’s diversification of its tactical nuclear launch platforms with various missiles means that there are more targets to strike,” said Park Won-gon, a professor of North Korean studies at Ewha Womans University.

“South Korea and the United States must have judged that they need to neutralize North Korea’s attempts with overwhelming air power.” The deployment is also directly connected to the Kill Chain leg of the three-axis system, which calls for pre-emptive strikes in an emergency. F-35A fighter aircraft taxi from a runway at an air base in Korea on May 16.

The South Korean Air Force conducted a joint 5th generation fighter training exercise with the United States Air Force over the central region of the Korean Peninsula on the same day. Two F-35A 'Freedom Knight' stealth fighters from the South Korean Air Force and two F-22 'Raptor' fighters from the U.S.

Air Force participated in this training. [REPUBLIC OF KOREA AIR FORCE] With a maximum speed of Mach 1.8 and a combat radius of 1,093 km (679 miles), the F-35A has a powerful stealth attack capability and can operate throughout North Korea and strike strategic targets simultaneously.

It is considered the weapon that the North Korean leadership fears the most. In particular, the U.S.

recently approved the use of the F-35A as a dual-capable aircraft (DCA) capable of carrying and dropping nuclear warheads, such as the B61 series gravity bombs, which is evaluated as further enhancing the nuclear deterrence effect. Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who was nominated as head of the Department of Government Efficiency advisory board for U.S.

President-elect Donald Trump’s second term, recently criticized the high maintenance costs of the F-35A, saying, “there are still idiots making manned fighters like the F-35,” but the general consensus is that no matter how much drones are the trend of modern warfare, it is impossible to replace manned fighters like the F-35A. Among the military and defense-related circles, there is talk that North Korea’s move to strengthen its air defense network is not unrelated to the USFK’s push for permanent deployment of F-35As. This is because if North Korea’s interception system improves, the success rate of missile penetration could decrease, so air power needs to be increased.

North Korea has been putting all its efforts into strengthening its air defense network, which has been at a disadvantage, including the test launch of the antiaircraft (surface-to-air) missile Byeoljji-1-2 in April. There is also speculation that North Korea, which has been developing the lightning series surface-to-air missile modeled after Russia’s S-300 and S-400 missiles, may be able to rapidly improve its technology with Russian support. In this regard, South Korean National Security Adviser Shin Won-sik said on Nov.

22 that “we understand that Russia provided related equipment and antiaircraft missiles to reinforce Pyongyang’s air defense network.” The possession of F-35As by the USFK could also be a steppingstone to check China. That the USFK’s latest fighter jets are operating near the Yellow Sea, which China claims as its inland sea, could in itself be seen as a show of force against China.

This means it is directly targeting China’s maritime expansion policy to block the entry of U.S. warships into the South China Sea and East China Sea and seize the initiative.

The U.S. Department of Defense announced a modernization plan in July to replace 36 F-16s in USFK with 48 F-35As.

In addition, if the F-35As are deployed in large numbers on the Korean Peninsula, the strategy of using them to pressure China, not only by the U.S. Forces in Japan but also by the USFK, could begin in earnest.

Another development to watch out for is the retirement next year of the U.S. military's A-10, known as the” tank killer.

” It appears that the U.S. is planning to fill the vacant positions of the 24 A-10s at Osan Air Base with F-16s at Kunsan Air Base and deploy F-35As.

BY LEE KEUN-PYUNG,LEE YOO-JUNG,LIM JEONG-WON [ [email protected] ] var admarutag = admarutag || {} admarutag.cmd = admarutag.cmd || [] admarutag.

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