[Military Story] Only Had a Radio... Now Possessing Supersonic Fighter Jets

South Korean Military Holding Out with 12 Liaison Aircraft During the Korean War
From Introducing F-35 Stealth Fighters to Producing Indigenous Combat Aircraft

In the early hours of Sunday, June 25, 1950, the Korean War broke out when North Korean forces launched a surprise invasion under the codename ‘Operation Storm 224.’ At that time, the Republic of Korea Air Force was modest, possessing only 12 liaison aircraft used for various communication tasks and 10 AT-6 trainers developed by the U.S. during World War II. In contrast, North Korea had an air force comprising 132 fighters and about 30 trainers and transport aircraft. The North Korean Air Force could scramble approximately 150 aircraft from all bases within 5 to 15 minutes.

The KF-16 fighter jet is receiving aerial refueling in the air. (Photo by the Air Force)

The turning point came with the introduction of the ‘F-4 Phantom’ fighter jet, first acquired by the ROK Air Force in 1969. During the Park Chung-hee administration, the F-4D Phantom was imported from the United States and was considered the world’s most powerful fighter jet, known as a ‘game changer.’ At that time, inter-Korean relations were marked by intense military tension. Following the 1968 ‘armed guerrilla raid on the Blue House’ and the capture of the U.S. intelligence ship USS Pueblo, incidents involving armed guerrillas in Samcheok and Uljin occurred consecutively.

With U.S. approval, South Korea became the fourth country after the United States, the United Kingdom, and Iran to possess the Phantom, and the first in Asia. By 1989, including five donated aircraft purchased with public defense funds, a total of 80 F-4D Phantoms (Block 26?28) had been introduced, serving on the front lines of homeland air defense. The Air Force named the donated fighter squadron the ‘Victory Squadron.’ The Popeye air-to-ground missile launched by the Phantom has the explosive power to penetrate 1.6 meters of reinforced concrete. It is famously nicknamed the ‘Popeye missile.’ With a maximum range of 100 km and an accuracy within 1 meter, it was one of the missiles that North Korea feared the most. The F-4 Phantom guarded the skies over the Korean Peninsula for 55 years before retiring in April this year.

Subsequently, the Air Force began introducing the F-5 on April 30, 1965, as part of the ‘Freedom Fighter’ project, acquiring 151 units by 1975. Korean aerospace company Korean Air produced 68 KF-5 Pejeongho jets under license, effectively laying the foundation for the ‘Korean defense industry.’ Korean Air manufactured the KF-5 domestically from September 1982 to 1986.

Currently, the main fighter jet in service by number is the KF-16. The Air Force operates about 160 fourth-generation multirole KF-16 fighters. The KF-16 is undergoing performance upgrades, with plans to complete upgrades for over 130 units by 2028.

As the F-4 Phantom and KF-5 gradually phased out, 61 high-end F-15K fighters were imported from the United States. The Air Force named the F-15K the ‘Slam Eagle.’ From the mid-2000s to the mid-2010s, it was regarded as the most powerful air superiority fighter in Northeast Asia. It also excels in air-to-ground attack capabilities, equipped with the most powerful European long-range air-to-ground missile, the Taurus, and is currently undergoing performance upgrades.

Our military has acquired the 4.5-generation Korean supersonic fighter jet KF-21 Boramae. The photo shows a formation flight of the Phantom and KF-21. Photo by Yonhap News

The 17th Fighter Wing at Cheongju Air Base in Chungbuk is home to the F-35A stealth fighter. The Air Force has acquired 40 F-35As and plans to import an additional 20 from 2027. With stealth capabilities, the F-35A can infiltrate enemy territory covertly and deliver devastating strikes on critical targets such as nuclear and missile facilities and war command centers.

Domestic development has also progressed. Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) developed the supersonic advanced trainer ‘T-50 Golden Eagle.’ Based on this platform, the T-50B aerobatic aircraft, the tactical lead-in trainer TA-50, and the light attack aircraft FA-50 were developed. The FA-50 is an enhanced version of the TA-50, equipped with threat countermeasures, night operation capabilities, tactical data links, and precision bombing capabilities. It can carry up to 4.5 tons of armaments, including air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles, JDAMs, and intelligent submunition weapons (SFW).

There is also the 4.5-generation Korean supersonic fighter, the KF-21 Boramae. Development is progressing smoothly, demonstrating air-to-air capabilities with successful live-fire tests of the medium-range Meteor missile and the short-range AIM-2000 missile. It is scheduled for operational deployment in 2026. The 105th Fighter Squadron of the 18th Fighter Wing in Gangneung, which was the first in the Korean Air Force to operate the supersonic jet F-5, will transition to the domestically produced supersonic KF-21 Boramae as its new aircraft.

According to the British magazine ‘Flight International,’ South Korea’s air force ranks fifth in the world after the United States, Russia, China, and India. The ‘2022 Defense White Paper’ states that the Air Force operates about 410 attack fighter jets with a very high operational rate. Globally, the United States accounts for 25%, Russia 8%, China 6%, India 4%, and South Korea 3% of operational fighter jets.