The Air Force said on Friday that it has launched a regular large-scale exercise to bolster its combat capabilities and ensure the country’s defense posture.
The eight-day exercise Soaring Eagle began at an airbase in Cheongju, 112 kilometers south of Seoul, amid tensions on the Korean peninsula following North Korea’s launch of a suspected solid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missile on last month.
The exercise mobilizes more than 160 people and some 60 combat aircraft, including F-35A, F-15K, KF-16 stealth fighters and KC-330 tanker transport planes, according to the Air Force.
It will take place in various scenarios, such as enemy special forces and aircraft infiltrations as well as cruise missile launches, and participants will conduct attack training drills focused on targeting major enemy assets and the source of provocations, the armed service said. .
It will also conduct aerial interdiction drills to train pilots to neutralize enemy targets, such as stationary artillery batteries and mobile missile launchers, in the shortest possible time.
“The purpose of this exercise is to equip oneself with rapid response capabilities against continuous enemy provocations and threats, and to acquire the best operational capability by verifying strike capabilities against threatening targets,” said Colonel Won Kwon-soo, who lead the exercise. quoted saying.
Launched in 2008, the Air Force has conducted the Soaring Eagle once or twice a year.
https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20230512004100325
Category: Korea
