Over 240 Latest US-ROK Air Force Aircraft Over the Korean Peninsula Skies

South Korea and the U.S. to Conduct 'Vigilant Storm' Exercise Until the 4th of Next Month... Unprecedented Participation of Electronic Warfare Aircraft Growler

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] A joint air exercise involving more than 240 military aircraft from South Korea and the United States will take place starting on the 31st. This is seen as a strong warning to North Korea amid concerns that it may conduct its 7th nuclear test before the U.S. midterm elections on November 8, following the conclusion of the Chinese Communist Party Congress.

According to the Air Force on the 28th, the large-scale joint air exercise "Vigilant Storm," involving over 240 aircraft from South Korea and the U.S., will be conducted over the Korean Peninsula until November 4 to prepare for wartime scenarios.

During this period, the ROK-U.S. Air Forces plan to continuously carry out key air operation missions such as strike formations, defensive support, and emergency air interdiction for approximately 96 hours, honing wartime operational procedures and enhancing sustained operational capabilities.

About 140 aircraft from the ROK Air Force, including F-35A, F-15K, KF-16 fighters, and KC-330 aerial refueling tankers, along with around 100 U.S. military aircraft such as F-35B fighters, EA-18 electronic warfare aircraft, U-2 high-altitude reconnaissance planes, and KC-135 aerial refueling tankers, will participate, totaling over 240 aircraft. The Royal Australian Air Force will also join the ROK-U.S. joint exercise for the first time, deploying one KC-30A aerial refueling tanker.

F-35B stealth fighters stationed at the U.S. Marine Corps base in Iwakuni, Japan, will land at a domestic base for the first time. Following the F-35A sorties in July and the deployment of the U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan (CVN-76, 103,000 tons) from September 23 to October 8, U.S. strategic assets are entering the Korean Peninsula one after another. This is seen as the implementation of the "timely and coordinated deployment of strategic assets" agreed upon at the May ROK-U.S. summit. The deployment of the EA-18 Growler electronic warfare aircraft, which disrupts enemy radar and interferes with surface-to-air missile attacks, is also unprecedented on the Korean Peninsula.

While the combined ROK-U.S. forces conduct a total of about 1,600 sorties, the Korea Air and Space Operations Center (KAOC), which commands wartime air operations, will operate and control the joint forces in real-time to assess operational capabilities. Enhancing interoperability among 5th-generation forces, integration with existing 4th-generation forces, and improving joint aerial refueling capabilities through training between the Australian Air Force's tanker and ROK fighters are key objectives of this exercise.

Additionally, unit-level exercises such as ROK-U.S. joint base defense and counterterrorism drills, verification of wartime logistics sustainment capabilities, maximum armament loading drills, and runway damage recovery training will be conducted. This is the first large-scale joint air exercise between South Korea and the U.S. since December 2017. At that time, following North Korea's major provocations including the 6th nuclear test on September 2017 and the intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test launch in November, over 260 military aircraft, including B-1B strategic bombers, were mobilized over the Korean Peninsula.

This exercise is held amid heightened tensions due to North Korea's completion of preparations for its 7th nuclear test and recent repeated violations of the September 19 military agreement. It indicates that the ROK and U.S. view the current situation as seriously as in 2017. The ROK-U.S. Air Forces first conducted this exercise under the name Vigilant ACE in 2015 to improve joint air operation capabilities capable of deterring and responding to North Korean provocations and to master wartime air operation procedures.

From 2018, the exercise was renamed the Comprehensive Fighter Training Exercise (CFTE). Starting this year, to strengthen strategic and tactical capabilities and establish a robust joint defense posture, the scale of the exercise has been expanded and renamed Vigilant Hunt Storm. Considering that in 2018 only small-scale ROK Air Force-only and battalion-level or smaller ROK-U.S. air exercises were held, and no exercises took place in 2019, this also signifies the restoration of the ROK-U.S. joint air exercises that had been reduced during the Moon Jae-in administration.

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