[Yang Nak-gyu's Defence photo] F-4E Phantom, Farewell Taxi Training with Junior Fighters

The Air Force announced that it conducted an "Elephant Walk" ground taxi training at the Air Force Suwon Base to honor the honorable retirement of the F-4E 'Phantom' fighter jets. Elephant Walk is a training exercise where fighter jets, armed with weapons, taxi on the runway in a tight formation just before takeoff to showcase military power. The name comes from the formation's resemblance to a herd of elephants moving together.

The lead of the formation during the training was taken by eight F-4E jets. They displayed their might equipped with air-to-ground missiles such as the AGM-142H 'Popeye' and AGM-65D 'Maverick', as well as MK-82 air-to-ground bombs. A total of 25 'junior' fighter jets including F-15K, KF-16, F-16, FA-50, F-5, and F-35A followed behind. Among them, two F-35A jets flew low over the Elephant Walk formation before landing and joining the formation.

The F-4 was first introduced to South Korea in 1969. The Air Force explained that by introducing the then world’s most advanced new model, the F-4D, it was able to overwhelm North Korea’s air force capabilities. Until the KF-16 was operationalized in 1994, the F-4 served as the mainstay fighter jet representing the Republic of Korea Air Force. The Air Force operated over 220 Phantoms, including upgraded models like the F-4E and reconnaissance aircraft RF-4C. Currently, most have been retired, with only about 10 F-4Es remaining. These too will be fully retired by June of this year.