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US F-35A fighter plane from Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, touches down at a US Air Force base in Gunsan, South Korea, on the afternoon of July 5. (provided by USFK)

The US Air Force has sent F-35A stealth fighters to South Korea for the first time in around five years for drills with its South Korean counterpart.

“Six F-35 fighters from Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska have been deployed to the Korean Peninsula and will be engaging in joint drills with the Republic of Korea Air Force through July 14,” South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense said Tuesday.

“This deployment is aimed at improving the interoperability of the Korean and American air forces while also demonstrating the combined defense posture and powerful deterrence of the ROK-US alliance,” the ministry explained.

“While in the Republic of Korea, the US Air Force aircraft plan to operate and fly with several different US and ROK aircraft. [. . .] The familiarization and routine training flights will enhance the interoperability of the two Air Forces to perform and operate on and around the Korean Peninsula,” US Forces Korea said in a press release Tuesday.

The South Korean aircraft poised to participate in the drills include the F-35, F-15K, F-16, and the “Peace-Eye” airborne early warning and control aircraft.

The joint exercise is taking place in accordance with an agreement reached during the South Korea-US summit in May “to deploy strategic U.S. military assets in a timely and coordinated manner.”

After the summit, the two countries’ defense officials and joint chiefs of staff discussed how to follow up on that agreement, reportedly leading to Tuesday’s deployment of the F-35 fighters to the Korean Peninsula.

F-35A aircraft carry out an “elephant walk” drill at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska, US, on March 25, 2022. (provided by USINDOPACOM)

The F-35 fighters at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska are US reinforcements that would be brought to bear in the event of a war on the Korean Peninsula. F-35 fighters have stealth capabilities that prevent detection by enemy radar, allowing them to penetrate enemy territory and strike key targets including nuclear weapon and missile bases and wartime command centers.

The ROK Air Force also has 40 of those fighters, purchased from the US.

The last time that F-35 fighters from the US Air Force visited the Korean Peninsula was four years and seven months ago, in December 2017. That was after North Korea’s sixth nuclear test cranked up tensions on the Korean Peninsula, leading South Korea and the US to carry out joint exercises involving F-35 fighters in response to the North Korean threat.

By Kwon Hyuk-chul, staff reporter

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