[Defense Column] F-35 Permanently Stationed in the UK... Why?

[Monthly Defense Times Editor-in-Chief An Seung-beom] On December 15th (local time), four F-35A stealth fighters landed at the RAF Lakenheath base in the United Kingdom. These are the first U.S. Air Force F-35A stealth fighters permanently stationed at an overseas base, belonging to the 495th Squadron of the 48th Fighter Wing.

In 2022, the remaining aircraft to form a full squadron are expected to arrive and be operated as a frontline stealth fighter force to deter Russia and the Middle East region.

Until now, the U.S. has only permanently stationed two squadrons of F-35B vertical takeoff and landing stealth fighters at the Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in Japan. Currently, there are no plans to additionally permanently station F-35A or F-35B stealth fighter units in Western Europe or Northeast Asia.

The replacement plans for the 4th generation F-16C/D fighters of the U.S. Air Force in Korea and Japan have not yet been concretized and are expected to be possible in the 2030s. Furthermore, there is no known intermediate modernization plan to replace them with upgraded F-16V 4.5 generation fighters.

The U.S. Department of Defense believes that the current force can respond until China’s J-20 stealth fighters and Russia’s Su-57 stealth fighters are deployed in large numbers. Another background factor is that the U.S. allies in Northeast Asia, the Republic of Korea Air Force and the Japan Air Self-Defense Force, are temporarily deterring China and Russia with their F-35A stealth fighter forces.

Meanwhile, the Republic of Korea Air Force announced that it began receiving the first of 40 F-35A aircraft ordered from the U.S. in March 2019 and expected to complete delivery by the end of December 2021. However, as of December 14, 2021, 36 aircraft have been received and are in operation.

According to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), the remaining four aircraft are confirmed to be delivered between January and February 2022 due to administrative delays by the U.S. Air Force. DAPA requested the U.S. Air Force to send the remaining four aircraft by the end of December 2021, but the delivery was postponed to early 2022. As of December 2021, the Republic of Korea Air Force’s F-35A stealth fighters have entered the Full Operational Capability (FOC) phase and have begun external weapons operations.

It has been confirmed that AIM-9X Sidewinder training missiles are mounted on the short-range air-to-air missile pylons of the main wing. The delay in receiving the remaining four aircraft does not affect the Air Force’s FOC schedule but may impact the subsequent procurement of 20 additional aircraft requested by the Air Force and the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

DAPA must complete the project procedures within 2022 to deliver the subsequent 20 aircraft to the Air Force between 2023 and 2024.

Additionally, factors such as the inauguration of a new administration, the introduction of carrier-based aircraft, and budget reallocations due to the COVID-19 pandemic have emerged as variables. It is hoped that the acquisition of 60 F-35A stealth fighters will proceed without any setbacks.

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