[Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club] The Last Spectacular Firing of the F-4

The F-4E ‘Phantom’ fighter jet conducted a live-fire exercise with its representative armament, the AGM-142 ‘Pop-eye’ air-to-ground missile, at the West Sea Jikdo firing range. This marks the final live-fire training before the retirement of the F-4E. According to the Air Force, the AGM-142 is an air-to-ground missile capable of precision strikes within a 1-meter margin of error on targets approximately 100 km away. Notably, from a point 5 km away from the target, the pilot can directly control the missile’s direction to increase hit accuracy.

The AGM-142 was first introduced to our Air Force in 2002. Until the AGM-84H SLAM-ER air-to-ground missile was deployed in 2007, it was the only strategic weapon capable of precision strikes on targets in Pyongyang, North Korea, from long distances. The F-4E is the only fighter in our Air Force capable of launching the AGM-142.

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