Joint Exercise Conducted with 240 US-ROK Military Aircraft Mobilized

Starting from the 31st, joint air exercise 'Vigilant Storm' begins... First time in 5 years since December 2017
35-B Stealth Fighter Jets Land at Domestic Base for the First Time, Deploying Growler Electronic Warfare Aircraft

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] The joint air exercise 'Vigilant Storm,' involving more than 240 South Korean and U.S. military aircraft, began on the 31st. This is the first time in five years since December 2017 that such a large-scale joint air exercise has been conducted.

According to the Air Force and the U.S. 7th Air Force Command, the Vigilant Storm exercise, which runs until the 4th of next month, will deploy about 140 South Korean aircraft including F-35A, F-15K, KF-16 fighters, and KC-330 aerial refueling tankers, along with about 100 U.S. aircraft including F-35B fighters, EA-18 electronic warfare aircraft, U-2 high-altitude reconnaissance planes, and KC-135 aerial refueling tankers, totaling more than 240 aircraft.

The total sortie count for South Korean and U.S. air forces during this exercise will reach approximately 1,600 sorties. It is interpreted as a powerful warning message to North Korea, conducted on the 'largest scale ever.'

The 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. In July, U.S. F-35A fighters and in September-October, the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan (CVN-76, 103,000 tons) with F-35Bs were deployed to the Korean Peninsula.

Additionally, the EA-18G Growler, the U.S. Navy's top electronic warfare aircraft known as the 'wizard of aerial warfare,' will also be deployed. The EA-18G Growler disables radar and communication equipment through powerful electronic jamming devices. It will be deployed to dominate North Korean airspace, which is layered with low-, medium-, and high-altitude air defense networks formed by 38 SA-5 surface-to-air missiles and others. The Royal Australian Air Force will participate in the joint exercise for the first time by sending one KC-30A aerial refueling tanker.

The U.S. and South Korea first conducted the joint air operation exercise under the name Vigilant ACE in 2015. From 2018, the exercise was renamed Comprehensive Fighter Training Exercise (CFTE) and was scaled down to South Korean Air Force solo exercises and small-scale joint air exercises at the battalion level or below. The exercise was not held at all in 2019.

A military official stated, "During the exercise period, the Korea Aerospace Operations Center (KAOC), which commands wartime air operations, will operate and control joint forces in real time to assess operational capabilities."