2 F-35 Stealth Fighter Jets Bolster South Korea’s Defence

Two F-35 stealth fighter jets have bolstered South Korea's military airbase. The stealth jets have placed the country in the ranks of Asia's few radar-evading warplane operators with the likes of Russia, China and Japan. This is the first two of the 40 that South Korea had agreed to purchase from the United States. The complete delivery, valued at $6.5 billion, is expected to be done by 2021.

The jets are designed for air defence, ground attacks and reconnaissance missions and have a capacity speed of Mach 1.6 and a combat radius of 1,093 kilometres. It is equipped with an internally mounted 25-millimeter GAU-22/A Equalizer gun designed for greater effectiveness against ground targets, laser-guided bombs, air-to-air missiles and Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) guided bombs.

The jets departed from US's Arizona Luke Air Force Base on March 22. It will go into operation in April or May after maintenance and technical tests have been done. According to the Defence Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), eight more F-35As are expected to arrive in South Korea by the end of this year. DAPA chief Wang Jung-hong said the stealth jets will enhance the Air Force's operational capabilities by strengthening military readiness posture against possible threats from all fronts.

Officials say the Jets will play a bigger role to serve as a centrepiece of South Korea's strategic targeting scheme, previously called 'Kill Chain', to defend against North Korea's possible aggression. Following North Korea's fifth nuclear test in 2016, the South Korean government announced its three-axis defence system including the Kill Chain pre-emptive strike program, as well as the Korean Air and Missile Defense (KAMD) and the Korea Massive Punishment and Retaliation (KMPR).