This Year's Air Force Top Gun is Major Han Jaeseok

[Asia Economy Military Specialist Yang Nak-gyu] This year, Major Han Jae-seok (32, Air Force Academy Class 59, photo), a KF-16 fighter pilot, was selected as the Air Force's top aerial marksman, the 'Top Gun'.

According to the Air Force on the 29th, Major Han, belonging to the 20th Fighter Wing (hereafter 20th FW), scored 965 points out of a total of 1,000 in the '2020 Boramae Air Shooting Competition,' earning the prestigious Top Gun title along with the Presidential Award and the Air Force Veterans Association Chairman Award. Major Han participated in the 'Air-to-Air Interception,' 'Air-to-Ground Bombing,' and 'Airborne Alert Aircraft Interception (X-INT)' categories, achieving perfect scores in all but the Air-to-Ground Bombing category, demonstrating outstanding aerial combat skills.

He completed flight training in 2013 and has continuously served at the 123rd Fighter Squadron of the 20th FW, the forefront of airspace defense, accumulating over 1,040 flight hours, including approximately 820 hours on the main aircraft, the KF-16.

Currently, he serves as the Safety Flight Leader in his squadron, working to prevent safety accidents through air and ground safety education and analysis of aircraft accident and malfunction cases. He also holds the position of KF-16 instructor pilot, contributing to the training of junior fighter pilots.

Major Han expressed his award acceptance remarks, saying, "The excellent results in this competition were thanks to the unwavering support of my squadron members and maintenance and armament personnel who prepared together through thick and thin." He added, "I will continue to do my best for the advancement of the Air Force's combat power and the fulfillment of airspace defense missions." He also announced that part of the prize money from this competition will be donated to the 'Sky Love Scholarship Foundation,' established for the children of fallen pilots.

Meanwhile, in the 'Air Mobility Aircraft Air Drop' category, Major Lee Se-ri (36, Air Force Academy Class 57), a CN-235 transport pilot from the 258th Airborne Flight Squadron of the 5th Air Mobility Wing, and in the 'Air Mobility Aircraft Search and Rescue' category, Major Kwak Myung-seok (31, Air Force Academy Class 60), a HH-60 helicopter pilot from the 233rd Search and Rescue Flight Squadron of the 6th Search and Rescue Wing (promoted soon), each received awards. The 20th Fighter Wing's 121st Fighter Squadron (KF-16) and the 8th Fighter Wing's 203rd Fighter Squadron (FA-50) were selected as the overall best units in the team category and received the Presidential Award. The Outstanding Rookie Award, given to the highest-scoring pilot among first-time participants in the shooting competition, was awarded to 10 pilots including Captain Jeon Yoo-hwan (26, Air Force Academy Class 65) of the 237th Fighter Squadron (KA-1) of the 8th Fighter Wing.

The 'Boramae Air Shooting Competition,' which selects the Air Force's top aerial combat pilots and squadrons, began in 1960 and marked its 61st event this year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.