Will USFK Entrust Weapons Maintenance to South Korea?

General Brunson: "Pursuing a Regional Sustainment Hub"


USFK Plans to Maintain Forces through Korean Defense Companies

The United States Forces Korea (USFK) has decided to designate South Korea as a "Regional Sustainment Hub" in order to respond more quickly to maintenance demands arising within the Indo-Pacific region and to expand logistical cooperation.

Yonhap News Agency

Javier Brunson, Commander of the ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command and USFK Commander, stated in written testimony submitted to the U.S. Congress on the 22nd (local time) that “USFK is pursuing the establishment of a ‘Regional Sustainment Hub’ to support the United States Indo-Pacific Command.” Commander Brunson said, “Lessons learned from COVID-19, the war in Ukraine, and the Gaza conflict demonstrate that supply chains can be disrupted or blocked more easily than before. It is therefore extremely important to establish the operational environment in advance to prepare for crises or conflicts.”

Commander Brunson highly praised the reliability of South Korean defense companies. He stated, “South Korea’s defense industrial base has developed to a world-class level,” and emphasized, “By utilizing the Korean defense industry base for MRO (Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul), we can significantly reduce the limitations of distance across operational areas.”

South Korea has supported the performance upgrades and maintenance of U.S. military aircraft, including the F-16 and F-15 fighter jets, the C-130 transport aircraft, UH-60 Black Hawk, and CH-47 Chinook helicopters, primarily within the country. In addition, it is known that USFK plans to expand this approach to also maintain U.S. naval vessels, Patriot air defense missile batteries, drones, and other assets in collaboration with Korean defense companies. In particular, it has been reported that concrete discussions are underway between the South Korean and U.S. governments concerning the maintenance and support of the Patriot system.

Commander Brunson added, “Cooperation with Korean defense companies requires close coordination between the U.S. Department of State and the Department of Defense,” and “In order to allow certain U.S. military equipment to be repaired in Korea, special repair authorization from the U.S. Congress is also necessary.”

Previously, the U.S. Department of Defense announced the “Regional Sustainment Framework (RSF)” policy in 2024, which aims to cooperate with partner countries in the region for the maintenance of weapons and facilities deployed by U.S. forces worldwide. Until now, the maintenance of U.S. defense capabilities had been centered in the continental United States, but the core objective of the new policy is to expand cooperation with regional partners to enable faster and more stable logistical support.

The “Regional Sustainment Hub” concept mentioned by Commander Brunson is also part of the Regional Sustainment Framework policy, under which South Korea would be assigned the role of a hub for the sustainment of U.S. military forces within the Indo-Pacific region.

Some analysts suggest that the United States may be attempting to expand maintenance hubs within the Indo-Pacific theater to more effectively contain China and prepare for a possible emergency involving Taiwan.

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